CPS News Brief

Five convicted of multiple child sex crimes in Rotherham

Five people have today been convicted at Sheffield Crown Court of multiple counts relating to the sexual exploitation of 15 victims in Rotherham over a period of 16 years.

The three men - Arshid Hussain, his brother Basharat Hussain, their uncle Qurban Ali; and two women - Shelley Davies and Karen Macgregor - were convicted following an 11 week trial. They will be sentenced on Friday 26th February.

The fourth man, Bannaras Hussain, entered guilty pleas on the first day of the trial to six counts of indecent assault, one count of rape, one count of aiding and abetting rape, one count of assault and one count of procuring a girl to become a prostitute.

The 15 victims were aged between 11 and 21 at the time, and the offences were committed between 1987 and 2003.

Peter Mann, Head of the Complex Casework Unit, Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) Yorkshire and Humberside, said:

“The Crown Prosecution Service has worked closely with South Yorkshire Police throughout this complex and lengthy investigation to build a strong case and secure justice for the victims.

“These defendants, in their differing ways, targeted these teenage girls because they were vulnerable and then facilitated their systematic sexual abuse. The abusers then groomed and sexualised their victims; often subjecting them to acts of a degrading and violent nature. They were mocked and spat at. Some of the violence was extreme and protracted.

“Arshid Hussain in particular played a key role. He was domineering and in some instances brutal in his treatment of girls. He used them for his own gratification, then often prostituted them or passed them on to his brothers or associates. He was assisted in differing ways by the other defendants, each willingly engaging in exploitative behaviour and using the girls to their own ends.

“The physical and psychological suffering these girls have endured is unthinkable. Their trauma is only matched in scale by the extraordinary courage they have displayed in coming forward to report their abuse and give evidence in this trial so that their abusers can at last be accorded the punishment they deserve.

“These men’s actions, and those of the women who facilitated them, are utterly abhorrent. Such depravity has no place in our society. The CPS will continue to work closely with the police to prosecute these complex cases.”

Sajid Bostan and Majid Bostan were found not guilty.

Matthew Hamlen found guilty of murder after acquittal four years ago

Matthew Hamlen, 37, from Eastleigh was convicted (23 February 2016) at Winchester Crown Court of the murder of Georgina Edmonds, who was found dead at her home in Brambridge, in January 2008. Although he was acquitted of her murder at the end of a trial in 2012, Matthew Hamlen was re-tried under the retrial of serious offences (double jeopardy) legislation, after new and compelling DNA evidence was found.

Following the conviction, Ian Harris, Head of the Crown Prosecution Service in Wessex’ Complex Casework Unit said:

“Georgina Edmonds, an elderly lady, was brutally and callously murdered in her own home. It has taken two trials and eight long years for her family to obtain justice. We would like to thank and pay tribute to her family, her friends and to all those who assisted the police, gave evidence and supported the prosecution.

“Two years ago, as a result of their detailed and painstaking forensic examination, Hampshire Police were able to present us with powerful fresh evidence.

“The Director of Public Prosecutions, Alison Saunders, gave her consent for the re-arrest of Matthew Hamlen and the Court of Appeal granted our application to charge him again with the murder of Georgina Edmonds.

“The new and fresh evidence was that a DNA profile matching Matthew Hamlen was found on the left hand sleeve on the back of Mrs Edmonds’ blouse. The forensic expert said that the probability of obtaining the matching results was 26 million times more likely if the DNA was from Matthew Hamlen, rather than from someone unrelated to him.

“Matthew Hamlen always denied that he was responsible for the killing and said that he could not remember what his whereabouts were at the time of her murder.

“During a six-week trial at Winchester Crown Court the jury heard evidence from different experts, from Mrs Edmonds’ son, Harry, daughter Georgina and from friends of the family.

“After hearing both the prosecution and the defence case, the jury was satisfied that Matthew Hamlen had murdered Mrs Edmonds and found him guilty.

“This case demonstrates the determination of both the Crown Prosecution Service in Wessex and Hampshire Police to work together in order to bring offenders before the courts and to obtain justice for the victims of crime.”