Blackpool man admits having sex with child but denies rape charges at grooming gang trial

Martin Rhodes, of Dinmore Avenue, Blackpool, is one of eight men accused of raping girls as young as 12.

The 39-year-old denies two rapes but has pleaded guilty to two counts of penetrative sex with a child.

One victim was filmed being sexually assaulted while she was unconscious as members of the grooming gang laughed, a court has heard.

The youngster, referred to as Girl A, was 12 when the alleged abuse began in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.

She and another young girl, known as Girl B, were allegedly plied with drink and drugs before being sexually abused for four years by men in the town.

Eight defendants deny a total of 80 sexual offences between 2002 and 2006.

Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court heard the girls would often be picked up from outside their schools while they were still wearing their uniforms.

They were then sexually assaulted against a school wall, in cars, in public parks, on Saddleworth Moor and in flats and houses in Rochdale, the court heard.

Neil Usher, prosecuting, said the alleged incident which resulted in the video showed the attitude defendants had to the girls they allegedly abused.

“The girls were mere objects for the defendants to use, abuse, humiliate then discard,” he said.

Mr Usher told the jury of another occasion when Girl A was urinated on by a group of men in a public park while she was being sexually assaulted.

Prosecutors said it had taken place because she had refused to carry out a sexual act for a gang member.

On another occasion she was asked to “do it for the team” and have sex with a defendant's uncle from Pakistan since he had “never had sex with a white girl”.

It is alleged she was offered £5,000 to marry him so he could stay in the UK.

Jurors also heard the girl was “trapped” in a bedroom for hours and forced to perform sexual acts on men as they took turns.

The allegations only came to light in 2015 after Girl A, while attending a parenting course, told of being “beaten and raped”. Police were then contacted.

She told course workers: “They did as they pleased, they made videos of me to use as blackmail.

“They sent the video around Rochdale anyway and I was branded a slag for it.”

As a result of what she told the police, they spoke with Girl B, a childhood friend.

The court heard Girl A first met a group of young men who were friends of one of the defendants, 38-year-old Mohammed Ghani, when she was 12.

She said Mr Ghani allegedly sexually abused her in the presence of an 11-year-old friend.

Jurors also heard Girl B was 13 when her alleged abuse began.

Girl A would be "bombarded" with telephone calls from the men, being "on demand" every day, and encouraged to get drunk, the court heard.

It is also alleged she was also given as many as 10 ecstasy pills while being sexually abused.

The other men on trial are:

- Mohammed Ghani, 38, of Bamford Way, Rochdale, is accused of 10 counts of rape, five counts of penetrative sexual activity with a child, two counts of sexual activity with a child, two counts of indecency with a child and two counts of buggery.

- Insar Hussain, 36, of Bishop Street, Rochdale, is accused of seven counts of rape, two counts of sexual intercourse with a child, three counts of indecency with a child, four counts of penetrative sexual activity with a child and trafficking a person for sexual exploitation.

- Ikhlaq Yousef, 38, of Stanley Street, Rochdale, is accused of two rapes, two counts of gross indecency with a child, two counts of penetrative sexual activity with a child and one count of causing a child to engage in sexual activity.

- Jahn Shahid Ghani, 50, of Whitworth Road, Rochdale, is accused of eight counts of rape, eight counts of penetrative sexual activity with a child and one count of causing a child to engage in sexual activity.

- Ali Razza Hussain Kasmi, 36, of Brotherod Hall Road, Rochdale, is accused of two counts of rape, two of indecency with a child and two of penetrative sexual activity with a child.

- Aftar Khan, 34, of Sparth Bottoms Road, Rochdale, is accused of three rapes, three counts of indecency with a child and two counts of penetrative sexual activity with a child.

- Mohammed Iqbal, 67, of Gainsborough Drive, Rochdale, is charged with two counts of paying for sexual services of a girl under the age of 18.