The British judicial system has come under criticism after eight child rape grooming gang members were given what some feel were light sentences for the abuse and rape of two girls in Keighley in the late 1990s.
BREITBART -- The West Yorkshire Police revealed Friday that over the past two years, the Bradford Crown Court has sentenced eight members of a grooming gang over the sexual exploitation of two young girls between 1996 and 1999.
However, the announcement was mired by what many saw as overly-lenient sentences for child rape, particularly given that most offenders in Britain are released after serving just half their sentences behind bars.
This would likely mean that some of those imprisoned by the Bradford court would serve less than two years in prison for raping a child.
The police force said that following the first trial, which concluded on October 20th of 2023, five men were jailed, including Amreaz Asghar,47, for four and a half years for rape, Perwaz Asghar, 50, for six and a half years for two indecent assaults, Mohammed Din, 47, for 14 years for 11 counts of rape, Sajid Mahmood Khan, 45, for three years for rape, and Zehroon Razak, 47, for six and a half years for rape.
Following the conclusion of the second trial, which concluded on Friday, a further three men were sentenced, though two were tried in absentia as their whereabouts are currently unknown. The West Yorkshire Police said that Ibrar Hussain, 47, was jailed for six and a half years for two counts of rape.
The two men tried in absentia, Fayaz Ahmed, 45, and Imtiaz Ahmed, 61, were sentenced to seven and a half years and nine years in prison, respectively.
The two victims were between the ages of 13 and 16 years old during the time of the grooming offences. Mohammed Din was convicted of raping both girls, while the other men were convicted of raping the first victim to come forward to police, which she did as an adult.
Responding to the sentences, former detective turned grooming gang whistleblower Maggie Oliver said: “These sentences in this Keighley group rape gang case just beggar belief, again – children of 13/14 raped repeatedly and their rapists will serve HALF these sentences!!!! So 18 months for one of the rapists, just over 2 years for another.
“Shocking! Yet again! And I honestly find myself lost for words, and I’ve no doubt the police officers who have put this case together are equally disgusted with these sentences! Disgusting!”
Grooming gang victim and activist Sammy Woodhouse added: “The Judges in the UK are sentencing men to 3 years for raping a child. He won’t even serve half of that. Absolutely vile. No wonder there’s so many children being raped in our country.”
The British public also appears to want harsher sentencing for grooming gang child rapists. According to a survey published this week by Friderichs Advisory and JL Partners, some 47 per cent of Britons support life sentences for such offenders, while 30 per cent backed the death penalty for grooming gang child rapists.
Following the publication of the sentences in Keighley, Detective Chief Inspector Vicky Greenbank of Bradford District Police said: “We welcome the sentences that have been handed down to these men. Cases such as these are incredibly sensitive and complex and it has taken years of painstaking investigation to bring them before the courts.
“I would like to take this opportunity to praise both victims for coming forward and reporting these offences to the police. They have both shown immense patience whilst the criminal investigation has been ongoing and courage throughout the court process.
“The abuse both girls endured robbed them of their childhood and I hope seeing these men sentenced for these horrendous offences, will give them justice and some closure.”