Rotherham detective ‘had sex with girls and passed drugs to gang’ - court

A central witness in the trial of seven defendants accused of being part of a grooming ring operating in the town has said a detective constable she had told about what was happening to her was involved with the gang.

Following three days of cross-examination, the woman, Girl B, was asked by prosecutor Michelle Colborne QC about her contact with DC Ken Dawes.

She said: “I told him what was happening. He wrote it down in his booklet, he said he would get back in touch with me.

“He never got back in touch with me.”

Miss Colborne asked how the complainant had found the officer.

She said: “He used to come to the houses where we were.”

The woman said this included the houses of two sisters who she used to live with.

She added: “He used to have sex with girls. He used to take drugs from people and pass them on to Ash.”

The woman did not clarify whether she was referring to Arshid Hussain, who was known as ‘Mad Ash’, or Qurban Ali, who has been referred to as ‘Blind Ash’ during the trial.

The girl, who lived in children’s homes from the age of 11, said she had still been in care at the time of the police officer’s alleged behaviour.

The woman had told the court yesterday that she had made a complaint about the conduct of the officer.

The woman, who is now 36, also told the jury no-one helped her when she living in children’s homes.

Ms Colborne asked if that was “any one person in any of the care homes you felt you could trust?”

The witness replied: “No.”

The prosecutor said: “Any member of staff you could go to as an authority figure?”

The woman said: “All they were concerned about was sitting at the end of the night and writing reports up - that was it.”

Karen MacGregor, 58, Arshid Hussain, 40, Qurban Ali, 53, Majid Bostan, 37, Sajid Bostan, 38, Basharat Hussain, 39, and Shelley Davies, 40, all deny a range of charges.

The trial continues.