3rd Sep 2013

Drug offences / child abuse / sex offenses

Abbey Solicitors worked on a highly publicized case over January which involved a group of nine men accused of targeting vulnerable young girls to form a ‘child sex ring’.

The men, eight from Oxford and one from Berkshire, were accused of being involved in a child sex-trafficking ring involving a total of six girls. Between them, the defendants faced 51 charges including rape, organized prostitution and trafficking.

The group denied the charges which relate to girls aged between 11 and 15 and covered a period from 2004 to 2012.

The nine defendants, of Pakistani and North African descent, allegedly took the girls to houses and hotels in Oxford, London and Bournemouth, where the prosecution claimed they were abused for days, sometimes using weapons to sexually assault the girls.

Prosecutors told the courts all of the defendants asked the underage girls how old they were before being given drugs and alcohol. The court heard how the teenagers would lie about their age, claiming they were above the age of consent (16). Witnesses also told the court that the girls would repeatedly run away from their children’s home to meet up with a group of men in Oxford.

Some of the witnesses also failed to say exactly when they had sexual intercourse with the defendants.

The court case is currently being carried out at the Old Bailey.