News / Crime
Final trial into Bristol child sex ring ends
Three men convicted as part of a child sex ring who exploited vulnerable girls as young as 11 have been jailed for a further 32 years in total.
Sakariya Hassan Sheikh, 23, Mohammed Ismail Dahir, 24, and Abdirashid Abdulahi, 23, were found guilty of 16 offences including rape, trafficking, sexual assaults and drug supply, which took place at various residential properties in Bristol between 2009-2013.
The three men were already behind bars following previous trials under Operation Brooke – the police’s child sexual exploitation investigation launched in 2014.
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The ring of 13 sex offenders were jailed in two separate trials in 2014. One case centred around a 16-year-old girl placed into supported housing in Bristol by care services of an unnamed council. She was repeatedly raped along with her 14-year-old sister, and her home off Stapleton Road was used for dealing drugs.
The second case focused on the rape and forced prostitution of six girls aged between 13-17 by a group of men who groomed through social media and abused girls at various locations.
After the final cases were closed on Tuesday following a trail which began in September, police said: “Their systematic abuse over a number of years slowly eroded their confidence and made them think these crimes were normal behaviour.”
All the offenders were of Somali origin, although a serious case review earlier this year found “there was no evidence that their ethnic origin was a key feature”.
The review, published in March this year, also found that the Police, social workers, doctors and school teachers were slow to spot a pattern of grooming, rape and abuse of nine girls.
The new convictions at Bristol Crown Court were based around offences relating to four victims aged between 13 and 15.
Sheikh, aka Zak, was jailed for 16 years for three counts of sexual assault, two counts of trafficking for sexual exploitation and five counts of rape. He had also entered a guilty plea for two counts of supplying a class B drug.
Dahir, aka Kamal, was jailed for eight years for two counts of rape. Abdulahi, aka Older Abs, was jailed for eight years after being found guilty of two counts of rape.
Three other men charged as part of this case were acquitted after the jury failed to reach a decision. A seventh man was found not guilty.
Outside court, deputy senior investigating officer Lisa Jones said: “These defendants befriended these vulnerable young people who were still at school, grooming and sexually exploiting them.
“Their systematic abuse over a number of years slowly eroded their confidence and made them think these crimes were normal behaviour. The men gave no thought to the long-term pain and torment they were inflicting on them.
She hinted that the offenders’ ethnic backgrounds were not relevant. “We worked closely with the local Somali community in Bristol during our investigation but I want to make it perfectly clear that the actions of these men were based purely on their personal decisions to exploit children and young people for their own sexual gratification, and nothing more.”
To report suspicions of child sexual exploitation, call the police non-emergency number of 101. Alternatively, you can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 where information can be left anonymously.