Rotherham teenage girls ‘subjected to acts of a degrading and violent nature’

Sajid Bostan arrives at Sheffield Crown Court today December 9 2015. Sajid Bostan has pleaded not guilty to seven charges. These include one charge of indecent assault, four charges of rape and two charges of aiding and abetting rape. See rossparry copy RPYABUSE:

Five men and two women have gone on trial accused of roles in the sexual exploitation of children in the South Yorkshire town over a period of more than 10 years.

Live updates from the trial here

Majid Bostan arrives at Sheffield Crown Court today December 9 2015. Majid Bostan has pleaded not guilty to one charge of indecent assault. See rossparry copy RPYABUSE:

Opening the case for the prosecution, Michelle Colborne QC told Sheffield Crown Court: “It is alleged that in differing ways they facilitated the sexual abuse of teenage girls.

“You will hear evidence from 12 women who were targeted, sexualised and in some instances subjected to acts of a degrading and violent nature.”

Ms Colborne said one defendant, Arshid Hussain, 40, - known as Mad Ash - played a key role.

She said: “He was domineering and, in some instances, brutal in his treatment of girls.

Karen Macgregor, 58, arrives at Sheffield Crown Court today December 9 2015. Macgregor has pleaded not guilty to three charges, these included one charge of false imprisonment, one charge of conspiracy to rape and one charge of conspiracy to procure a woman under 21 to become a prostitute. See rossparry copy RPYABUSE:

“He used them for his own gratification, then often prostituted them or passed them on to his brothers or associates of his.

“He was assisted in differing ways by the other defendants, each willingly engaged in exploitative behaviour and using the girls to their own ends.”

Arshid Hussain, 40, Qurban Ali, 53; Majid Bostan, 37; Sajid Bostan, 38; Basharat Hussain, 39; Karen MacGregor, 58; and Shelley Davies, 40, all deny a total of 63 charges between them.

The trial is ongoing.