Seven men are convicted of grooming and raping vulnerable under-age girls as young as 11 and forcing them into prostitution.
Members of the gang abused their victims, who were aged 11 to 15, over a nine-year period, subjecting them to “extreme depravity”, but opportunties to stop the men in their tracks were missed time and again.
The girls were chosen because of their troubled upbringings, groomed and lavished with gifts. They were given alcohol and drugs, including cannabis, crack and heroin, and were told they and their families would be hurt if they tried to run away.
Men travelled from Leeds, Bradford, London and Slough to have sex with the girls at guest houses and private properties in Oxford, where members of the gang lived.
The jury at the Old Bailey delivered its verdict on the fourth day of its deliberations. The trial began five months ago and six women gave evidence against nine men.
The prosecution alleged that the men were part of a ring which sexually exploited under-age girls between 2004 and last year.
Police and social workers apologised for not protecting the girls, who were drugged and raped when they were supposed to be under the care of the authorities.
Joanna Simons, chief executive of Oxford County Council, said: “We are incredibly sorry we were not able to stop it any sooner. We were up against a gang of devious criminals.”
Detective Chief Superintendent Rob Mason said: “Thames Valley Police and Oxfordshire County Council social services deeply regret that this activity wasn’t identified sooner and that we were too reliant on victims supporting criminal proceedings, and that they suffered a terrible ordeal.”
During the trial, Girl A was brave enough to face her abusers in court, while the others gave evidence from behind a curtain.
She said she had been raped and sold for sex when she was aged from 12 to 15, but told the court that nothing was done when she went to the police.
“They threatened on a number of occasions to arrest me for wasting police time for turning up at a police station in a state after running away,” she said.
“Any self-respecting police officer would have seen something was wrong. If you pickup a child who is covered in cigarette burns and bruises, something is fundamentally wrong.”
The defendants denied 47 counts, including rape, trafficking and organising prostitution of under-age girls in Oxford.
Brothers Akhtar Dogar, 32, and Anjum Dogar, 31, and Kamar Jamil, 27, were convicted of rape, facilitating child prostitution and trafficking.
Assad Hussain, 32, was convicted of two counts of sexual activity with a child.
Mohammed Karrar, 38, was found guilty of rape of a child under 13 and procuring abortion, conspiracy to rape, child prostitution and trafficking.
Mohammed Karrar’s brother Bassam, 33, was found guilty of rape and conspiracy to rape girls under 13, child prostitution and trafficking.
Zeesham Ahmed, 27, was convicted of sexual activity with a child.
Fighting broke out in the dock after two of the defendants were cleared. Mohammed Hussain and another man who cannot be named for legal reasons were acquitted.
All of the men are from Oxford.
The nine accused were arrested as part of Thames Valley Police’s Operation Bullfinch, which saw 14 addresses raided across Oxford last March.
They were alleged to have threatened to harm the girls or their families if they ran away.
The court heard that one of the complainants described being in a “living hell” during the period of alleged abuse from 2004 to early 2012.
Sentencing will take place next month.