Child sex exploitation brothers’ appeals rejected
TWO BROTHERS convicted of child sex abuse in Rotherham have seen their request for appeals rejected by the most senior judge in the country.
Arshid Hussain and Basharat Hussain, who were jailed in February last year after being found guilty of multiple rapes and indecent assaults of girls in the town, appeared before the Court of Appeal in Leeds on Thursday.
The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, ruled that all appeals be dismissed. He also ruled that the sentences handed down to the pair, 35 years and 25 years in prison respectively, would stand.
Detective Chief Inspector Martin Tate was the senior investigating officer for Operation Clover, the investigation into the Hussain brothers and their criminal network who groomed and exploited young girls in Rotherham between 1987 and 2003.
Speaking after the hearing, he said: “The sentences given to Arshid and Basharat last year are some of the largest ever imposed for sexual offending in the UK, but Lord Thomas ruled that this was entirely proportionate.
“The Lord Chief Justice was clear that this was some of the worst sexual offending he had ever presided over, and that these sentences must act as a deterrent nationally.”
He added: “While the appeals process is not normally one that police comment on, I feel it only right that we continue to recognise the bravery of the young women who have had to face yet another challenge in their battle for justice.”
Twelve women were sexually, physically and emotionally abused in their early teens, with six people all together convicted of various charges.
Arshid Hussain, who was 40 when found guilty, of High Street, East Cowick, Goole, was convicted of 23 of 28 charges. Basharat Hussain, who was 39 when found guilty, of no fixed abode, was convicted of all 15 charges he faced.