Tahir Rashid, 54, Mohammed Saleem, 46, Sucklane Shah, 46, Amjad Mahmood, 53, Itfaq Hussain, 45, and Arshad Mohammed, 55, all deny the offences they are accused of
20 Oct 2025
Six men are alleged to have historically sexually abused three girls in Rochdale in the ‘most humiliating and degrading way imaginable’, a trial has heard.
The allegations made by one girl are said to have happened in the late 1980s and early 1990s, while claims made by two other girls are alleged to have occurred in the mid 2000s.
Tahir Rashid, 54, Mohammed Saleem, 46, Sucklane Shah, 46, Amjad Mahmood, 53, Itfaq Hussain, 45, and Arshad Mohammed, 55, all deny the offences they are accused of.
The complainants are referred to as Girl A, Girl B and Girl C for legal reasons.
Prosecutor, Rossano Scamardella KC, told jurors Girl B was abused from the age of 12, and Girl A and Girl C from the age of twelve or thirteen.
“Two of the girls, Girl A and Girl C were friends and both led troubled lives. They were very vulnerable children with chaotic home lives and were easy prey for men with an unhealthy interest in having sex with children,” said the prosecutor.
“They had deeply troubled home lives and were known to the authorities, their school attendance was poor and they were often missing from home. They were abused at similar times, from 2005 onwards by Tahir Rashid, the first defendant, and others who sit with him in the dock.”
Mr Scamardella KC continued: “Girl B was also sexually abused by Tahir Rashid, the undoubted ringleader in this group, but her abuse happened in the late 1980s and she did not know either of the other victims then, nor does she know them now.”
Jurors heard that Mr Rashid, described as a ‘flashy man’, is alleged to have forced himself on her on numerous occasions, ‘not caring about pregnancy’. He is also alleged to have given her a sexually transmitted disease, the court heard.
Speaking about the other two complainants, the prosecutor said: “Their experiences at the hands of these predatory men was also appalling. They were children passed around for sex; abused, degraded and then discarded and that it was the two of them that were exploited in this way, was not by chance.”
“The defendants were only too aware of their tender ages and the difficulties they were experiencing with day-to-day life. It was obvious that they craved the attention that their home lives and families did not provide, which made them easy for older men to exploit.”
Mr Scamardella KC said the men ‘preyed upon those vulnerabilities for their own perverted sexual gratification in the most humiliating and degrading way imaginable’
He continued: “It began by making the girls feel like grown-ups; given alcohol, cigarettes, places to stay and people to be with.”
“But that was to quickly change, and drastically so. The girls were expected to have sex with these men and others, whenever and wherever the men wanted.
“They were often forced to have oral sex and vaginal sex with multiple men on the same day, in filthy flats and houses. On other occasions they would be required to have sex in cars, car parks, alleyways or disused warehouses. Wherever and whenever these men wanted it.”
“Unprotected sex was routine. The girls were lied to about it being forbidden for Muslim men to use protection so the men would often ejaculate in their mouths or inside them. These men cared not a bit about sexually transmitted diseases or unwanted pregnancies,” said Mr Scamardella KC.
“Both girls would be expected to answer calls at all times of the day and night from the men that wanted to have sex with them. Girl A told the police as part of the investigation, that often she would be on the phone to one man whilst more than one other would be on-hold. They became sex slaves.
“Despite being known to social services and other agencies, some of whom were aware that the girls were having sex with older, Asian men, neither girl complained to police at the time and no action was taken to prevent further incidents.”
Mr Rashid was alleged to have ‘used his physical prowess’ to overpower Girl B and ‘force her to have sex with him. He is also alleged to have given her money, taken her to places such as Alton Towers and bought her clothes.
He was also alleged to have raped Girl A and Girl C.
Mr Saleem, also known as ‘Wolf’, was alleged to have ‘groomed and raped’ Girl A. In total, it was said that he had sex with her ‘about 30 times’.
Sucklane Shah, also known as ‘Sucky’ was alleged to have had sex with Girl C in his car, with her believing they were ‘in some sort of relationship’ together.
The court heard that Arshad Mohammed is alleged to have paid Girl C to have sex with him. It is also alleged that he told Girl A that he worked for a modelling agency and persuaded her to pose naked for photographs before having sex with her, jurors heard.
Iftaq Hussain was alleged to have raped Girl A at a warehouse where his friend worked, with prosecutors stating he would ply her and her friend with alcohol.
Amjad Mahmood is alleged to have picked up Girl A in his car, giving her vodka and asked her to perform oral sex upon him before allegedly raping her on numerous occasions. He is also alleged to have arranged for her to have sex with another man for money. Mr Mahmood is charged with an offence of rape in relation to Girl C.
- Tahir Rashid, 54, of Hudsons Walk, Rochdale, denies 12 counts of rape, three counts of indecent assault and one count of assault by penetration.
- Mohammed Saleem, 46, of Shaw Road, Littleborough, denies eight counts of rape.
- Sucklane Shah, 46, of Milnrow Road, Rochdale, denies two counts of rape.
- Arshad Mohammed, 55, of Merefield Street, Rochdale, denies four counts of rape and one count of assault by penetration.
- Itfaq Hussain, 45, of Hey Street, Rochdale, denies three counts of rape.
- Amjad Mahmood, 53, of Channing Street, Rochdale, denies 11 counts of rape, two counts of indecency with a child, two counts of assault by penetration and one count of indecent assault.
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Two vulnerable schoolgirls were “easy prey” for a grooming gang who abused them “in the most humiliating and degrading way imaginable”, a court has heard.
Alleged ringleader Tahir Rashid, 54, is said to have abused both teenagers between 2003 and 2006, and also to have raped a 12-year-old girl in the late 1980s.
Mr Rashid, of Rochdale, faces allegations in relation to all three girls and denies rape, indecent assault and assault by penetration.
Prosecutor Rossano Scamardella KC told jurors at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court the two girls were “easy prey for men with an unhealthy interest in having sex with children”.
Referred to in the court as Girl A and Girl C, Mr Scamardella said the pair were friends in Rochdale who both led “troubled lives” and were “very vulnerable children with chaotic home lives”.
Opening his case earlier, Mr Scamardella said: “Their school attendance was poor and they were often missing from home.”
“They were abused at similar times by Tahir Rashid and others who sit with him in the dock,” Mr Scamardella said.
He added the children “were passed around for sex – abused, degraded and then discarded.”
Mr Scamardella said: “The defendants were only too aware of their tender ages and the difficulties they were experiencing with day-to-day life.
He said the girls would hang around groups of Asian men at various parks, woods, at the moors or at Rochdale market and the snooker hall.
“These men preyed upon those vulnerabilities for their own perverted sexual gratification in the most humiliating and degrading way imaginable.”
‘Imbalance of power’
Mr Scamardella said: “Unprotected sex was routine. The girls were lied to about it being forbidden for Muslim men to use protection.
“These men cared not a bit about sexually transmitted diseases or unwanted pregnancies.”
The prosecutor said the pattern of the case was “common” to child sexual exploitation, adding “those who commit these offences are cunning”.
He said: “They appear affectionate and kind to the children they intend to exploit, often providing alcohol, drugs or a place to stay and at the heart of that very deliberate manipulation tactic is an imbalance of power.”
Mr Scamardella added that Rochdale and surrounding parts of Greater Manchester had been “blighted by this type of child sexual exploitation”.
‘Flashy’
Mr Rashid’s co-defendants are charged with offences against Girl A and/or Girl C, said to have taken place on various dates between 2003 and 2006.
Mohammed Saleem, 46, of Rochdale, Sucklane Shah, 46, of no fixed abode, and Itfaq Hussain, 45, of Shawforth, all deny rape.
Arshad Mohammed, 55, of Rochdale, has entered not guilty pleas to rape and assault by penetration.
Amjad Mahmood, 53, of Rochdale – who was not in the dock – has pleaded not guilty to offences of rape, indecent assault, indecency with a child and assault by penetration.
Mr Scamardella told jurors that Mr Rashid was “flashy” and claimed to have a series of luxury cars including a Hummer and a Range Rover, as well as two diamond encrusted rings which he said were worth £50,000 each.
The prosecutor said Mr Rashid was aware of the ages of Girl A and Girl C because he often picked them up when they were in their school uniforms.
He said: “Mr Rashid did not care that they were underage.
“It was what he liked.”
Mr Rashid was said to have known his earlier alleged victim, Girl B, was underage too as on one occasion he drove her to school, the court heard.
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/six-men-sexually-abused-three-32713106
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c7v8dm8jzddo