Seven men have been sentenced to a combined 174 years for abusing two girls in Rochdale between 2001 and 2006, a time when the police and local authority were mostly busy losing files and asking victims if they were sure it wasn’t “just a misunderstanding.”
The convictions follow a four-month trial during which the brave women, known only as Girl A and Girl B, delivered devastating testimonies detailing years of abuse and the decades-long aftermath of being completely ignored by the very institutions now trying to take credit.
Mohammed Zahid, who is 64 and apparently still surprised that rape is illegal, received 35 years for 20 offences. Kasir Bashir, sentenced to 29 years in absentia, took a leaf out of the disgraced politician’s playbook by simply not showing up to court and hoping no one would notice. Police are reportedly “making enquiries” which in Rochdale usually involves sighing loudly and waiting to be promoted.
The gang, described by prosecutors as “depraved,” preyed on vulnerable children, committed horrific crimes, and then, like many before them, got on with their lives as though the justice system was optional. Luckily for them, in early 2000s Rochdale, it more or less was.
Detective Chief Inspector Guy Laycock led the investigation, congratulating his team for “thousands of hours of work”, presumably most of it spent making up for decades of institutional apathy, lost paperwork, and that weird era where police thought sexual exploitation was just “teenage rebellion.”
“Without the victims, this wouldn’t have been possible,” Laycock added, in a refreshing admission that women traumatised by years of neglect once again had to do all the heavy lifting while the system trailed behind with a clipboard and a confused look.
Rochdale Borough Council also took a moment to remind the public that it’s now “a very different place,” which is true in the same way that a burnt-out building is technically no longer on fire.
Girl A and Girl B, unpaid, unmedalled, but somehow still standing, are now left to rebuild their lives while the town pats itself on the back and the council prepares a commemorative PowerPoint about “lessons learned” that no one will read.
Meanwhile, 20 more men are due in court soon, which should keep the illusion of progress going until the next scandal breaks, probably involving the same buildings, same people, and same horrifying déjà vu.
