Shropshire men accused of child prostitution and trafficking

The men on trial, who are aged between 21 and 59 and from Telford, in Shropshire, face a total of 47 charges.

The charges against the men include rape, controlling child prostitution and sexual activity with girls under the age of 16. One of the defendants is also accused of trafficking a child in the UK for exploitation – the first time such a charge has ever been brought.

The men, most of them married, had jobs, cars and money – money they used to ply young girls with cigarettes, alcohol and drugs, according to the prosecution.

The defendants all hail from the same area of Wellington in Telford. For two years, it is alleged, they trafficked, raped or sexually abused girls whom they knew to be under 16.

On the opening day of the trial, the jury was told that the girls were all vulnerable to the attentions of the older men – the teenagers were from troubled backgrounds and some had been in care.

When they were shown affection, they soaked it up, the court was told. In fact, some of the girls still do not regard themselves as victims, the court heard.

The prosecuting barrister Deborah Gould told the court: “Imagine the thrill for a teenage girl of having an older man pursuing you. Some of these girls thought they were in love… their abusers gave them gifts, encouraged confidences and gave them attention.”

It is alleged that the men used that attention to befriend the schoolgirls and gain their trust. They then exploited this trust by asking the girls for sexual favours. It is alleged that some of the men went on to encourage the girls into prostitution.

The jury heard that the men would transport the girls to various locations around Wellington, including a churchyard, a fish and chip shop, and the grounds of a local college.

There they would encourage them to have sex with groups of men who had travelled from across the country.

All of the defendants deny the charges against them and the case is expected to last 12 weeks.

Those on trial are Ahdel Ali, 23, Murbarek Ali, 28, Mohammed Ali Sultan, 24, Tanveer Ahmed, 39, Mahroof Khan, 33, Noshad Hussain, 21, Mohammed Islam Choudhrey, 52, Mohammed Younis, 59 and 34-year-old Abdul Rouf.