Rotherham grooming leader Arshid Hussain jailed for 35 years

Arshid Hussain, the ringleader of a gang who groomed, raped, and abused teenage girls in Rotherham, has been jailed for 35 years.

His brothers Basharat Hussain, 39, and Bannaras Hussain, 36, got 25 years and 19 years respectively.

Their uncle, Qurban Ali, 53, was jailed for 10 years.

Female accomplice Karen MacGregor, 58, was jailed for 13 years while Shelley Davis, 40, was given an 18-month suspended sentence.

Jailing the gang, who were said to have “ruled Rotherham” with their drugs and guns operation and abused the girls with impunity, Judge Sarah Wright told them: “The harm you have caused is of unimaginable proportions.”

The judge paid tribute to the “immense courage” of the victims who came forward.

Earlier, the court heard how one of the gang’s victims was beaten up by her own family after they found out she had been abused by one of the brothers.

The girl’s double plight was outlined as prosecutors opened the case against Bannaras Hussain.

Arshid, Basharat, Ali, MacGregor, and Davis were found guilty earlier this week after a long trial but, as Bannaras had pleaded guilty, the case against him was opened by prosecutor Michelle Colborne QC.

Ms Colborne said Bannaras met one victim when she was 12 or 13 and she performed sex acts on him.

“He was indifferent to whether she consented or not,” she said.