Northumbria Police praise victims of grooming gang for speaking out
The detective who led a major investigation into a Gateshead grooming gang has praised the victims for preventing other girls from being exploited.
Northumbria Police say they will do everything they can to bring down people exploiting children and teenagers - following 5 members of a grooming gang being jailed last week for targeting girls in Gateshead
The detective who led the investigation into the men - who plied victims with alcohol and drugs before sexually exploiting them - has praised the victims for coming forward and preventing other girls from being targeted too.
Northumbria Police launched its inquiry in 2019 after officers received two separate reports of abuse from teenage girls who did not know each other.
It led to a painstaking investigation which pieced together evidence of a gang with links to the Bensham area and who played football together in Saltwell Park, Gateshead.
Mr Barr said police worked hard to gain the trust of potential victims and witnesses.
He said: "The offending ranged from sexual assaults by touching to the most serious offences of rape, including multiple people against the same victim.
"Their behaviour was abhorrent and they should and must have recognised that what they were doing was wrong."
The experienced detective thanked the victims, now in their 20s, for the trust they have shown in the police and the criminal justice system, and said, by speaking out, they have stopped further offences.
He said: "Huge tribute has to be paid to the victims in this case for the bravery and the dignity they have shown in coming forward.
"The victims we approached with disclosures of offending against them have prevented further offending by that group of men, and ultimately that is the biggest tribute I can pay to them."
Mr Barr said the victims have endured an ongoing ordeal.
"This really should have been the best years of their lives," he said.
"You're talking about girls between 13 and 15 years old, girls who are enjoying the time of their life.
"The offending of this nature has had a significant impact on those girls."
On Friday, 5 men were jailed for their roles in the grooming gang, they were:
- Bogdan Gugiuman, 44, of Westbourne Avenue, Gateshead, who was found guilty of three counts of rape and supplying a Class A drug. He was jailed for 14 years and was in his mid-30s and married when he committed the offences.
- Codrin Dura, 27, of Ripon Street, Gateshead, who was found guilty of four counts of rape, four counts of sexual activity with a child, blackmail, attempted rape, serious sexual assault, supplying a Class A drug and arranging or facilitating commission of a child sex offence. He was jailed for 13 years.
- Klaudio Aleksiu, 28, of Church Terrace, Windsor, who was found guilty of rape. He was jailed for six years.
- Leonard Paun, 23, of Windsor Avenue, Gateshead, who was found guilty of five counts of rape, two counts of arranging or facilitating commission of a child sex offence, sexual activity with a child, sexual assault, supplying a Class A drug and distributing photos of a child. He was jailed for five years and one month.
- Stefan Ciuraru, 22, of Brinkburn Avenue, Gateshead, who was found guilty of four counts of sexual assault, sexual activity with a child and causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. He was jailed for 18 months, given his youth at the time of the offending.
Passing sentence at Newcastle Crown Court, Judge Tim Gittins said the nationality of the four Romanians and an Albanian who lived in the Bensham area of the town was "irrelevant".
The judge said all 5 men were in the country legally.
The judge said: "The information the court has is you all came to this country legally, most as children, and have stayed legitimately.
"Whatever others may think, your nationality is irrelevant to the sentencing process.
"You must understand however, that someone who comes to this country as a guest or as a permanent resident are subject to the same standards and penalties as a British citizen for contraventions of the criminal law."