Five sentenced in connection with the trafficking and sexual abuse of teenage girls in Rhyl
Alcohol and drugs used to coerce victims
A group of four men and one woman have been sentenced at Caernarfon Crown Court for their parts in trafficking and the sexual abuse of three vulnerable teenage girls.
Mustafa Iqbal, 43, was convicted of raping two girls, while Mohammed Arshad, 36, and Ziaullah Badshah, 25, were convicted of raping one of the girls.
The offending started in 2022 when Iqbal met two of the teenagers in Rhyl and took them to his address. Badshah and Arshad arrived at the property. During the course of the night the two girls were given cannabis and vodka.
Contact continued between the three men and two girls, and Jaswinder Singh, 61, became involved in driving the girls around and providing them with cannabis.
Over the following weeks Iqbal, Arshad and Badshah met the same two girls and subjected them to sexual abuse.
Singh took one of the girls who had been abused to London, and the police were contacted by a concerned person.
A third teenager in Rhyl, who was looking to buy drugs, contacted Iqbal who raped her multiple times over a three-month period.
Sarah Gray, 53, who was new to the Rhyl area, was provided drugs by Iqbal for allowing him to use her property to abuse the third teenager. Gray also tampered with evidence by trying to wash away DNA.
Iqbal also committed an offence in relation to a fourth teenage girl, where he breached a Slavery Trafficking Risk Order imposed by a magistrates’ court, prohibiting him from contacting anyone under 18 years old.
Louisa Robertson of the Crown Prosecution Service said: “Iqbal, Arshad and Badshah sexually exploited these children using alcohol and drugs to coerce them.
“Singh and Gray were complicit in the exploitation of vulnerable girls.
“Any sexual abuse is abhorrent, and the Crown Prosecution Service takes all allegations of abuse extremely seriously.
“The victims of these shocking crimes showed great courage in speaking out against their abusers, and it is through their strength that we have brought all the offenders charged to justice.”
The defendants were sentenced earlier to:
Mustafa Iqbal – 30 years in prison, with an additional five years to be served on extended licence.
Mohammed Arshad - 19 years in prison.
Ziaullah Badshah - 17 years in prison.
Jaswinder Singh - eight years in prison.
Sarah Gray - eight years in prison.