TWO men who 'sexually humiliated' a young girl have been jailed for a total of 20 years.

Kamran Khan, 36, of Northfield Road, Bolton, and Raheem Ahmed, 40, of Starwort Path, Oxford, had both already been convicted after a five-month hearing into child sexual exploitation in the city.

The Bolton News:

Kamran Khan

Khan was convicted of indecent assault and false imprisonment and cleared of one count of rape.

The Bolton News:

Raheem Ahmed

The major trial, one of the biggest in Oxford Crown Court's history, saw a total of eight men convicted for running a child grooming ring on a 'massive' scale across the city.

They had sexually abused five girls who were aged as young as 13 between 1998 and 2005.

Six of the group - Moinul Islam, Kameer Iqbal, Khalid Hussain, Alladitta Yousaf, Assad Hussain and Haji Khan - will each be sentenced separately for their role in what prosecutors called 'routine, cynical and predatory sexual exploitation' in June.

The court heard at the sentencing of Khan and Ahmed, that both had imprisoned one of the girls at an address in Cowley, before humiliating her in a 'terrifying and protracted' attack.

Judge Peter Ross said: "There was sexual humiliation, what would now be described as sexual assault.

"Her whole body was stripped and she had various substances thrown at her including into her face and rubbed into her skin.

"All the time the two of you were mocking and humiliating her. She tried to escape, she thought she was going to die."

He added there had been 'significant threats of violence' following the ordeal including a threat that would 'put into the cellar at this address where no-one would find her'.

In other instances of sexual abuse, the court heard, Khan tried to force another victim, aged 13 or 14 at the time, into performing a sex act.

On another occasion Ahmed forced another 14-year old into performing a sex act before 'abandoning' her by the side of the road.

The court heard a group of other unidentified men had also been present during the abuse and had been 'rejoicing' at what was going on.

In victim personal statements read out to the court, a number of the girls said that they had suffered anxiety and depression as a result of the abuse.

The victim of the false imprisonment incident said: "What they did to me was very humiliating and degrading.

"I could get really upset sometimes, I would start thinking about what happened and I would have a feeling of worthlessness."

Another girl said she had felt 'menaced' at the 'twisted and depraved' abuse inflicted on her and said that she had 'always been in fear' of the men.

In mitigation, the men's defence barristers, Sally Howes QC for Ahmed and Derek Johashen for Khan, said their clients had been 'opportunists' in their offending and had not been acting as part of a child sex 'gang'.
Sentencing, Judge Peter Ross said while Khan and Ahmed had carried out 'serious' offences they had played a lesser role than the other men who were also convicted in the trial.

He said: "You were both convicted of serious offences following a lengthy trial which has been characterised as ultimately a grooming case.

"I am prepared to sentence you two defendants separately from the other defendants on the basis that at worst you were on the periphery of this group."

He added: "It cannot be said that you were party to targeted grooming of some of the young women who gave evidence in this case."

Khan was jailed for a total of eight years, made up of three years for the indecent assault and five years for false imprisonment, to run consecutively.

Ahmed was jailed for a total of 12 years made up of five years for the false imprisonment, two years for one indecent assault and five years for another, all to run consecutively.

Each must also sign the sex offenders register and be subject to a sexual harm prevention order for life.