How a terrified young schoolgirl was ensnared by the Rochdale gang

Published: 23:48, 2 July 2026 | Updated: 23:49, 2 July 2026 One victim's parents told of their daughter's ordeal after Shabir Ahmed was convicted in 2012: As a child, Jessica loved playing in the garden, or walking her dog on the beach. She would go back to her family's smart home for supper with her father Jim, a successful property developer, mother Jennifer, and her sister Maryon. The family moved to Rochdale, Greater Manchester, when Jessica turned 13. To the bewilderment of her loving parents, Jessica's behaviour suddenly changed. Jim and Jennifer then discovered the truth. Their slim, dark-haired, pretty daughter - then studying for her GCSEs - had been lured by a criminal gang into an underage sex-for-sale ring operating from Pakistani-run kebab shops and takeaways in Rochdale. At one stage, she was being forced to sleep with five men a day, four or five times a week. The Rochdale gang beguiled naive girls with vodka, cigarettes and mobile phones. And then, these children were forced to have sex with the gang members and their friends. Jessica was the key witness in the shocking trial. She bravely gave evidence, known only as Girl A - and her story was as heart-rending as it was shocking. At 15, she became friends with an older white girl (who her parents disliked) who took her to a kebab shop and introduced her to the men who worked there. The girls began visiting regularly and, at first, the men were friendly. As a child, Jessica loved playing in the garden, or walking her dog on the beach. She is pictured here aged five at her family home in Heywood, Greater Manchester Shabir Ahmed (pictured), 59, invited Jessica to a room above the kebab shop for a chat, where he reminded her of the free vodka and meals he had given her One day, a 59-year-old man, ringleader Shabir Ahmed, invited her to a room above the kebab shop for a chat. He reminded her of the free vodka and meals he had given her. He said he wanted something in return. When she said no, he hurled her on to a bare mattress on the floor and raped her. When she finally got home, Jessica was too terrified to tell her parents. And besides, the gang promised they would beat up her, or her family, if she spoke about what had happened or refused to return to the kebab shop. So it was that this terrified schoolgirl was ensnared - and that first rape was to turn into months of sexual attacks by dozens of men, who paid the gang £30 or £40 a time to sleep with her (from which she and other girls were occasionally given £10).  Jessica was driven in taxis and delivery vans around flats and houses in Rochdale and other former mill towns in the north, where there are large Pakistani communities. There, groups of men were waiting to rape her over and over again - and then hand over cash to the gang. The men never used condoms. In August 2008, several months after she first went to the kebab shop, Jessica summoned the courage to fight back. The police were called and she seized the chance to blow the whistle on the gang. But the Crown Prosecution Service told the police that there was no prospect of a successful conviction, despite DNA linking her directly to Ahmed. As a result, the gang remained free to continue grooming other schoolgirls for another two long years. It was only when Nazir Afzal, a new CPS chief in the area, reviewed Jessica's file in 2010 that the police inquiry was re-opened. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.