‘I have finally had my voice heard,’ says Rotherham rape victim as three men sentenced to 58 years
“When I leave this court I will leave with my head high and my shoulders back”
A Rotherham woman who was groomed and raped as a teenager told a court “I have finally been heard”, after the three perpetrators were today sentenced to a total of 58 years in prison.
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The three men - Mudasar Hussain, aged 36, his brother Ghazanfar Hussain, 40, and Khamir Khan, 36 - plied the girl with alcohol and cannabis when she was around 14 , and raped her repeatedly between between 2008 and 2010.
Following being found guilty on all counts by a jury, the victim spoke at Sheffield Crown Court on Friday (November 13) to say: “When I leave this court I will leave with my head high.”
Musasar Hussain and Khamir Khan - who were sentenced to 23 and 25 years in prison respectively - absconded from their trial and are on the run to this day.
In her victim impact statement, the woman said: “For many years the abuse I suffered made me believe that what was happening to me was normal. I was led to think that the fear, pain and trauma I experienced was simply part of life and growing up.”
Speaking specifically of Mudasar, she said: “Words cannot truly express the impact your actions have had on my life. The damage caused by your abuse has stayed with me for years.
“Although your abuse changed my life in ways that cannot be undone I am proud that I found the strength to come forward and tell the truth; to tell those willing to listen what had happened to me.”
To Khan, she said: “Kammy, you treated me as though I was something to be passed around and returned to you; a belonging of yours rather than a vulnerable child who required protection and care.
“When I leave this court I will leave with my head high and my shoulders back, and with a stride in my step; with the hope I may still have the chance to make something of my life.
“This is not about seeking revenge. It is because I know I have finally been heard. I have had the opportunity to tell the truth about what happened to me and to hold to those responsible accountable for their actions. I have finally had my voice heard.”
Philip Marshall, head of Operation Stovewood, said: “I would like to thank the victim for reporting to us the abuse she suffered. Her powerful statement in court highlighted the deep and traumatic impact of the sexual abuse, which has stayed with her into and throughout her adult life.
“Child sexual abusers thrive on making their innocent victims feel powerless, and on making them believe that the abuse they are suffering is normal or that they won’t be believed if they report it.
“Our investigation, and the woman’s evidence, has ensured she has been heard and believed. I am so please that she feels able to move forward with her head held high, and I echo the judge’s words that she is a remarkable woman.”
Since Operation Stovewood was formed in 2014, specially-trained officers have identified and supported around 1,150 potential victims and secured 60 convictions against 55 people – including Hussain, Hussain and Khan.
Custodial sentences totalling nearly 1,900 years have been handed down to those sentenced.