Britain: Asians part of 'grooming gang' busted for sexual abuse
Communities fear backlash from right wingers might exploit the situation. Photo:Northumbria Police
(Web Desk) – More than 100 vulnerable children and girls were sexually abused by an Asian grooming gang that included Pakistanis and Indians, in the latest case of organised sex abuse scandal in Britain.
Seventeen men and one woman have been found guilty of involvement in a ‘grooming network’ in Newcastle that plied vulnerable women and girls with drink and drugs before assaulting them.
In a series of four trials at Newcastle crown court, juries found the men guilty of nearly 100 offences including rape, human trafficking, conspiracy to incite prostitution and drug supply between 2011 and 2014, the Guardian reported.
Nashir Uddin was convicted of sexual assault, inciting prostitution and drugs offences. Photo: Northumbria Police
The defendants were mainly British-born Muslims who belonged to the Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Indian, Iraqi, Iranian and Turkish communities, while their victims are believed to be mainly white British girls and young women between 13 and 25, who according to the prosecution’s argument, were targeted because they were vulnerable and less likely to complain because of their circumstances. The court heard accounts of young women who were drugged before waking up to find themselves having been sexually assaulted.
According to The Independent, communities fear backlash as far-right has jumped in to ‘exploit exploitation”. Faith leaders across Newcastle have urged the public not to “cast blame on entire communities” in the wake of the police operation exposing the racket.
The former head of the Crown Prosecution Service called the abuse by grooming gangs a “profoundly racist crime” after 18 members of such a group were convicted of offences including rape, assault, supplying drugs and trafficking for prostitution.
Chi Onwurah, the Labour MP for Newcastle Central said she was “ashamed” that her home city had harboured men committing abuse for which “there is no excuse”.
"Crimes of sexual exploitation can be and are committed by members of all communities and indeed it remains regrettably true that sexual abuse is most likely to come from within the family circle”, she added.
One of the room’s in the flat of the convict where young girls were abused by men. Photo: Northumbria Police
She said those who sought to use the abusers Asian or Muslim backgrounds to create division were putting other girls at risk, adding: “Assuming that grooming and child abuse is prevalent in one group helps potential abusers hide in plain sight if they are not part of that group.”
As reported by Daily Express UK, Ewen Weir, who is responsible for social services at Newcastle City Council, said it was “oversimplistic” to attribute the attitudes underpinning the abuse to one group.
“It’s not right to oversimplify this because there are men from all sorts of backgrounds, including white men. In terms of religion, I’ve seen no evidence personally that it is a big driver.”
A statement signed by faith leaders including Christian Catholic, Muslim, Jewish, Sikh and Hindu denominations vowed to continue their “strong and supportive relationships”.
“We are all profoundly saddened by the shocking cases of grooming and child exploitation, including exploitation of vulnerable adults, uncovered by police investigations,” it continued.
“It is important now that we do not compound the profound suffering that victims of these crimes have endured by casting blame on entire communities, and we all need to support one another in the aftermath of these events."
