Rochdale grooming trial: Nine found guilty of child sex charges

Nine men have been convicted of being part of a child sexual exploitation ring in Greater Manchester.

The men, who are all from Rochdale and Oldham, "groomed" young girls, some as young as 13.

Liverpool Crown Court heard claims that the men plied their victims with drink and drugs so they could "pass them around" and use them for sex.

A failed police investigation in 2008 allowed the abuse to go undetected for another two years.

After four days of deliberations, the jury of three men and nine women returned guilty verdicts against the men for their part in a child sex ring which centred on Heywood.

The offences included rape, trafficking girls for sex and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child.

Two of the defendants on trial, Qamar Shazad and Liaquat Shah both of Rochdale, were acquitted and walked free from court.

The court was told that the abuse, which began in 2008, took place at two takeaways in the town involving a group of Asian men aged between 24 and 59.

The oldest defendant, a 59-year-old man from Oldham was convicted of two counts of rape, aiding and abetting rape, sexual assault and trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation but cannot be identified for legal reasons.

Some of the girls were beaten and forced to have sex with "several men in a day, several times a week", the jury was told.