SEX EXPLOITATION TRIAL: THREE MEN PLEAD GUILTY

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

An artist's impression of the three men accused of sexually exploiting a 16-year-old schoolgirl

Sex exploitation trial: three men plead guilty

The trial of three men accused of sexually exploiting a 16-year-old schoolgirl was dramatically stopped today, for guilty pleas to be entered.

Aabidali Mubarak Ali (39), Rakib Iacub (20) and Wajid Usman (22), admitted seven of the 22 counts they originally faced.

The prosecution accepted the guilty pleas to the lesser number of offences “in the public interest” and to spare the “vulnerable victim” the ordeal of giving evidence in court.

The girl, now 17, was due to go into the witness box at Leicester Crown Court this afternoon to be cross-examined by three defence advocates.

The prosecution claimed the defendants ignored her young age and paid, or offered to pay her, for sexual activity.

During the trial, the court heard the victim had voluntarily sold sexual services to friends to raise money because she wanted to leave home.

She admitted taking cannabis and drinking vodka to excess to “ease my sorrow.”

Whilst in that vulnerable state, she met Iacub at a Diwali festival last November, which led to the co-accused and three other men becoming sexually involved with her.

Judge Michael Pert QC discharged the jury from further involvement.

Ali, of Guthlaxton Street, Highfields, admitted two counts of paying for the sexual services of a child under 18 - at a guest house in Saxby Street, Highfields, and at a flat in Kashmir Road, St Matthews - as well one offence of facilitating child prostitution at the flat, between last November and January.

Iacub, of Maynard Road, Highfields, admitted offering to pay for the sexual services of a child under 18 and facilitating child prostitution, at the guest house.

He also admitted offering to pay the girl for a sexual encounter in a car at Leicester’s Watermead Park.

Usman, an illegal immigrant from Afghanistan, of no fixed address, admitted one count of paying for the sexual services of a child under 18, at a flat attached to the Mogul Durbar, restaurant in East Park Road, Spinney Hills.

Usman stayed at the flat for three or four weeks, whilst informally helping out at the restaurant – which was ransacked by members of the Sikh community, mainly from Derby, who were protesting about the perceived lack of police action in relation to the victim in this case, in January.

A group of 40 to 50 men burst in and attacked innocent members of staff, who had nothing to with the child exploitation allegations, causing customers to flee in terror.

The prosecutor, Matthew Lowe, said today: “Regarding the guilty pleas, the matter has been considered at a very high level within the CPS, the police force and there’s been consultation with the complainant and those who are looking after her interests.

“It avoids a damaged and fragile young women giving evidence and being asked questions.”

They will be sentenced on August 30, along with three other men, who have already admitted related charges involving the same victim.

They are Bharat Modhwadia (25), of Wycombe Road, Humberstone, Leicester, Hamza Imtiazali (25), of Kashmir Road, and Chandresh Mistry (37), of Berridge Lane, Belgrave, Leicester.

Afterwards, head of Leicestershire Police Safeguarding department, Det Superintendent David Sandall, said: “The victim supports the action that’s been taken today.

“It’s a relief for her, and her family, that she won’t have to re-live her ordeal and be cross-examined by three defence barristers“She was targeted because of her vulnerability and that’s why she was exploited.

“She’s had a wide range of support, including from her family and the police to prepare her for the trial.”

He said although the police were informed about exploitation relating to the girl, before the Moghul Durbar restaurant was ransacked, it was not until after that incident that she actually made “disclosures” about what had happened to her.

He said: “She was supported by third parties and we were victim-led and didn’t pressure her.

“Within three days of her telling us we’d made arrests.“

Det Supt Sandall said the suggestion, by the victim in her tape-recorded police interview, that other Sikh girls may have been exploited was “proactively investigated”.

He said: “People haven’t told us of any other victim, but we would encourage anyone to come forward.

“We’ve worked closely with social care, health services and schools as part of this investigation.”

ANARCHY

This article appears on the front page of today's Leicester Mercury:

Anarchy: Court hears of horrific attack on curry house

by Suzy Gibson, Court Correspondent

The actions of seven men involved in the ransacking of a Leicester curry house, in which several people were seriously injured, was "lawless anarchy", a judge has said.

Jailing each of the men for two years, Judge Simon Hammond said: "This was mob rule."

The owner and two members of staff suffered stab wounds, and customers were also attacked, when a group of 40 to 50 people burst into Moghul Durbar, in East Park Road, Spinney Hills, Leicester, at 9pm on January 14.

Leicester Crown Court was told the group had earlier met at a Sikh temple in Gipsy Lane, Northfields, in response to a text message claiming a member of their community was the victim of abuse.

They wrongly assumed the police were not taking action and, after being incorrectly informed that one or more of the suspected culprits would be at the restaurant, decided to take the law into their own hands.

"The owner and two members of staff were going about their lawful business and several members of the public, occupying four or five tables, including women and children, were eating there and enjoying themselves," said Gordon Aspden, prosecuting.

"The attack happened without warning, when the group began smashing the front windows of the restaurant.

"Armed men entered, from the front and rear. Many had their faces covered with scarves and hoods. Some were carrying ceremonial knives, metal bars, nunchucks and bricks.

"The sheer terror caused can't be over-emphasised. The premises were completely trashed, with furniture, glasses and plates smashed and carpets fouled with food and blood. It was wanton destruction.

"The owner was hit on the head by flying glass and forced into the kitchen, where he was stabbed in the chest and right arm and punched repeatedly.

"The waiter had hot water and chilli sauce thrown over him before suffering a life-threatening stab wound to his liver, while repeatedly being punched and kicked. The chef was stabbed in the back and hit over the head."

A husband and wife with their three children were finishing their ice creams when the mayhem broke out.

The husband was punched and retreated to the kitchen where a pan of hot curry was poured over him.

Mr Aspden said: "Two of his children followed him and saw what happened, and one was injured by a flying glass."

The man was the only witness willing to make a statement, as everyone else was too fearful.

People were seen fleeing in terror and covered in blood.The emergency services were called and who arrived quickly, moments after the mob fled. Mr Aspden said Pc Jennifer Collins's actions at the scene were "exemplary".

He said: "Her uniform was covered in so much blood, through helping the injured, it was used as an exhibit."

Two witnesses gave the police a registration number of one of the vehicles at the scene, a VW Golf, which was stopped northbound on the M1.

Masking tape had been used to alter its registration number, to try to evade the police.

Six of the defendants, all from Derby, were in the car: Surjit Pandher (28), a former prison warden, of Northfield, who owned the car; Gurmukh Singh Cheema (25), of Harrington Street; Ranjit Singh (21), of Harrington Street; Sundeep Singh Sangha (25), a gas heating engineer, of Wordsworth Avenue; Rajveer Singh Sangha (24), a college student, of Wordsworth Avenue; and Ranvir Singh (21), of Harrington Street.

Mr Aspden said blood-stained gloves were found in the car.

The seventh defendant, Kahan Khalsa (26), of Oldbury, Birmingham, was later arrested in the West Midlands.

All seven men pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit violent disorder, on the basis they played no part in the stabbings or beatings.

Mr Aspden said: "It's quite impossible, on the evidence, to say who did what."

In a moving statement read out in court, the restaurant owner's wife said her husband survived a near-fatal car crash in 2008, after which he suffered from depression.

When they bought the restaurant in 2012, she said it gave him and the whole family "a new lease of life".

Mr Aspden said: "They were proud to have built the restaurant up from nothing ."

The owner's wife said she received a phone call after the attack and went to the restaurant to see her husband, covered in blood, being put in an ambulance.

She stated: "Since the attack, he's back to how he was before the restaurant.

"We've lost over £45,000 and we now want to want to move from here."

Judge Simon Hammond said: "No-one at the restaurant, either staff or customers, had anything do to with any allegations and were totally innocent."

He added: "It was carefully orchestrated. This was mob rule and the restaurant was trashed. It was lawless anarchy."

The judge said it was "as bad a case of violent disorder as is possible to imagine".

"I accept all seven defendants are decent men of previous good character. It gives me great sadness to see them in the dock.

"They come from good homes and they've let themselves and their families down."

He said the dozens of testimonials handed into the court spoke highly of the defendants.

In mitigation, the court heard the defendants, including two sets of brothers, genuinely regretted their involvement.

Francis Laird QC, mitigating for Ranjit Singh, said that at the meeting in the temple emotions were "whipped into a frenzy".

He said: "They set off, many not knowing what would happen, unaware weapons other than ceremonial kirpans were involved. The men responsible for serious violence were never caught.

"These defendants were the minnows, who went along out of misguided support."

Other defence counsel said some of them were only expecting "a protest" at the restaurant and did not anticipate violence.

RESPONSE TO DRAFT POLICE & CRIME PLAN

Here's the text of the Council of Faiths response to the draft Five Year Plan proposed by the recently elected Police and Crime Commissioner, Sir Clive Loader.

As well as writing and submitting this response from our organisation, I've contributed to the writing of a collective response, to be submitted in association with our colleagues at Leicester LGBT Centre, Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living and The Race Equality Centre

***

Response to Police and Crime Commissioner's draft Five Year

George M Ballentyne,

Equality & Diversity Officer,

Leicester Council of Faiths

Having searched the electronic version of the draft plan throughout, looking for relevant terms such as “faith”, “religion”, “place of worship”, “church”, “mosque”, “temple” etc., I was disappointed not to find any of them included.

I searched every conceivable variation on these terms and the only mention of any of them to be found was the use of the word “religious” twice, both times in connection to “racially and religiously motivated hate crime” (p.23). Even this slight mention gave cause for concern: under the new legislation embodied in the Equality Act 2010, race and religion are deemed distinct “Protected Characteristics”. Lumping the two of them together like this appeared a backward move, not in keeping with the change in legislation and public recognition.

So on even the most cursory reading, the draft plan makes no reference to any faith communities, or to any organisation representing anyone or anything to do with religion or belief. This is particularly disappointing for two reasons:

1. Firstly, absence of acknowledgment of the need to engage actively and positively with the city’s diverse faith communities – their places of worship and related community centres (numbering close to 300 and steadily increasing), the growing number of faith schools, the many festivals spread across the year.  Each of these communities, organisations and premises – as well as those responsible for the many public occasions – has worked hard over many years to establish, maintain and develop good relations with police at all levels. They each have particular sensitivities and vulnerabilities that need to be recognised and addressed, as well as distinctive strengths and contributions that should be acknowledged and accommodated. This is a certain kind of community policing that Leicester has become good at. Its omission from the draft plan could make it appear that all this hard work is not valued and may well go to waste under a new regime.
2. Secondly, absence of recognition that as well as giving so much to the celebrated diversity of the city, these communities, organisations, premises and events present potential flashpoints in terms of criminal behaviour and disruption of social order. Whether seen in the two recent visits by the English Defence League, in the on-going tension around ownership and use of Thurnby Lodge Community Centre, in the armed attack on the Moghul Dharbar restaurant in East Park Road or around the much-publicised issues of sexual exploitation, there is a new hardening of attitudes, a testing of relationships, a willingness to point the finger – and to take unilateral action, in word and deed – against, among and between communities that is altering the environment of peaceful coexistence in the city.

Faith communities and organisations can be engaged in the plan not just on crime related to “religion or belief” (e.g. religiously aggravated or motivated hate crime), but in other ways too. Places of worship, community centres, infrastructure organisations related to one particular faith (e.g. British Hindu Voice, Christians Aware, Federation of Muslim Organisations, Leicestershire Sikh Alliance) or related to a variety of faiths (e.g. Leicester Council of Faiths), opinion formers, influential figures, spokespersons and activists play an important part in all aspects of relations between police and community – and none of that seems to be recognised or included in the plan. These functions work in both a softer context in everyday terms and in a “harder context (e.g. role played during visits by English Defence League. Faith-based organisations are also experience and interested in rehabilitation work and can contribute much to cutting down re-offending.

The draft plan gives no indication of who should speak for or about the faith communities and issues of policing and crime that affect them – and on which many of them can make positive contributions. If only Voluntary Action LeicesterShire is to represent  the voice and interests of these communities and organisations (as well as those of every other voice and interest in the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector) then Leicester Council of Faiths – and the communities and organisation with whom we work – would consider that an inappropriate and ineffective way to engage. Several years ago, when the Leicester Strategic Partnership set up its system of Host Organisations to represent the many “communities of interest” in the city, Voluntary Action LeicesterShire sought to be an all-encompassing “mega” Host Organisation, bidding to cover all the Protected Characteristics of age, disability, gender, race, religion and sexual orientation. It was not considered fit to do so in the end and the Host Organisation were picked from among user-led organisations (ULOs) all of which were (and still are) working on the ground with the communities they would claim to represent. From the Council of Faiths’ point of view, VAL at that time had no specialist knowledge, experience or interest in the area of religion or belief and no personnel working with the faith communities. Nothing has transpired in the intervening period to make us believe that VAL has the capacity to undertake that role now. We can only speak for this matter as it relates to our specialist area of religion or belief – but we wish to make it clear, in no uncertain terms, that (I believe, in common with our colleagues in other ULOs in the city and county) we would not have confidence in VAL to perform this role in way outlined in the draft plan. We would urge direct engagement with ULOs, preferably in partnership alignment. 

In a new specification that runs initially to the end of 2014, Leicester City Council has commissioned the following activities from Leicester Council of Faiths:

• To promote trust, understanding and co-operation among faith communities and organisations in Leicester, working collaboratively with Leicester City Council and other strategic groups and partnerships to achieve this.
• To disseminate accurate information about the beliefs and practices of the diverse faith communities of Leicester, working collaboratively with Leicester City Council and other strategic groups and partnerships to achieve this.
• In pursuit of these activities, Leicester Council of Faiths is to deliver the following outcomes, all of which would be relevant and useful in the context of the Police and Crime Plan:

• Offer a collective voice for the city’s faith organisations and the communities they serve, ensuring that issues of religion or belief are given appropriate consideration within the policies and operations of the City Council (and other strategic groups and partnerships), leading to improved design, delivery and monitoring of services.

• Provide a central point of contact for the City Council (and other strategic groups and partnerships) on behalf of the city’s faith organisations and the communities they serve, ensuring that issues of religion or belief can be addressed in an effective, sensitive and timely manner.

• Assist faith communities and organisations in Leicester more fully to engage in the life of the city in general.

• Ensure dissemination of accurate knowledge of the beliefs and practices of the city’s diverse faith communities and organisations, in order to increase trust, understanding and cooperation among them (and between the city’s diverse faith communities and the general public in Leicester). 

Leicester Council of Faiths is working with Leicester City Council as a partner on issues relevant to section 4.3 of the draft plan. Leicester City Council wants to use “using lines of communication between and within faith communities and organisations to improve design, delivery and monitoring of services”.  This same approach can be adapted to serve the purposes of the Police and Crime Plan. As a practical example, Leicester Council of Faiths is working with Leicester City Council on places of worship and faith-based community centres as focal points of “resilience” (see p. 30). It would make sense, as an example of “joined-up working” to match these needs and outputs. It would make sense for Leicester Council of Faiths to be taken on as a “resilience partner” in terms of the plan. There are many references in the draft plan to “working with partners” that could be seen as applicable to working with Leicester Council of Faiths. These include the following:

• “the Force already has an excellent reputation for working with our partners who play their own critical part in helping to reduce crime” (p. 51)
• “working with partners to solve locally identified problems” (p. 5)
• “working with partners to prevent and tackle crime and re-offending” (p. 9)
• “shared strategic priorities to tackle with our partners” (p. 11)
• “working with partners” (in relation to terrorism, p. 29)

PEACE TALKS HELD AFTER RAMPAGE AT RESTAURANT

This article appears on the front page of today's Leicester Mercury:

Peace talks held after rampage at restaurant

Police and faith leaders met last night to find ways of easing tensions after the ransacking of a Muslim-owned restaurant by a 40-strong Sikh mob.

The city's top officers sat with representatives from Leicester Council of Faiths to discuss the apparently orchestrated attack by a vigilante gang at the Moghul Durbar restaurant, in East Park Road, Spinney Hills, on Monday night.

Police said they were worried the incident – which they said was fuelled by false rumours – would lead to revenge attacks and escalate as both groups sought retaliation.

City police commander Chief Superintendent Rob Nixon said Monday's attack was sparked by misinformation regarding the rape of a teenage Sikh girl.

"We are aware of a number of rumours and misinformation which is circulating within the communities in Leicester," he told the Mercury.

"Firstly, a rumour that a Sikh girl has been raped and Leicestershire Police has done nothing despite being in possession of video evidence of that rape. This is not true.

"Reports that a Sikh girl has been snatched from outside a gurdwara in Leicester are also false.

"As part of a separate investigation, officers are speaking with a girl and her family in relation to concerns her family have raised for her welfare. We are unable to comment further on this investigation.

"Leicestershire Police urges members of the community not to listen to rumour or speculate about the incident."

Workers and diners were injured when a frenzied mob piled into the restaurant on Monday evening, smashing doors and windows.

Three men were still in hospital last night, in a stable condition.

Within an hour of the attack, police had arrested six Leicester men in connection with the incident.

Yesterday morning, magistrates granted the police an extension, which means officers can detain the suspects for questioning for up to 96 hours from arrest, after which they must be charged or released.

Police met members of the Sikh and Muslim communities at Mansfield House police station, in the city centre, yesterday evening, to discuss ways to relieve the tension within the Spinney Hills community. Assistant city mayor Manjula Sood, who is chairman of Leicester Council of Faiths, was at the meeting.

She said: "Both the Sikh and Muslim communities are anxious, but they must trust the police to sort this matter out.

"We should not let this one incident destroy everything we have worked to build over all these years. Police have been in touch with all the religious communities and we are meeting to see how we can resolve this issue safely and without any more incidents."

City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said he had been in contact with the police and reiterated their call for calm.

"Something of this sort is worrying and distressing, but it's important to make the point of how unusual it is for something like this to happen in Leicester," he said. "And a lot of people have been left scratching their heads, wondering how it ever happened in the first place.

"We have to make sure that this does not go any further and the police are allowed to do their job."

Officers have been visiting places of worship, businesses and members of the community to reassure them the attack was an isolated incident.

Nosheen Awan, who runs designer clothing shop Rima's, a few doors away from the Moghul Durbar restaurant, said: "There have been a lot of rumours going around. It's hard to know what to believe.

"We haven't been open long and it's scary to know that something like this has happened."

Anyone with information relating to the incident can call police on 101.

Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

MEETING WITH POLICE RE EAST PARK ROAD INCIDENT

A meeting at Mansfield House Police Station this evening, called at short notice by Leicester Council of Faiths in association with Leicestershire Police, to discuss the recent incident at the Moghul Durbar restaurant in East Park Road.

There are 30 people attending this evening, with much wider representation than just the Council of Faiths. By my reckoning, there are six Sikh groups or organisations represented, three Muslim, two Hindu and one Christian. There are four City Councillors and three police officers. The Race Equality Centre (TREC) is also represented. Nine of those attending are members of Leicester Council of Faiths; both members of staff (Ajay and myself) are present too.

After introductions round the table, Fayyaz Suleman (Vice Chair, Leicester Council of Faiths) sets the tone,  explaining why the Council of Faiths is involved and what it can do in relation to this situation - at this meeting and, with attendees' consent and involvement, afterwards.

As far as this meeting is concerned, Fayyaz explains that the Council of Faiths and the police hope that those present will voice their concerns as individuals and as members of their respective communities and organisations; that we'll be able to receive a briefing from the police on the current situation; and that we can chart our way forward to serve the best interests of all communities, promoting cohesiveness throughout the city - not just for those directly affected.

Fayyaz then hands over to Rob Nixon, City Centre Commander, who outlines three specific topics on which he wants to speak:

1. The current state of the police investigation into the incident (including an accurate description of the incident itself as it was first reported to the police; how the police responded; what actions have been taken by the police since the incident; what the police intend to do next)
2. Wider issues on which some communities feel vulnerable (to do with protection of children and young people)
3. How to move forward, who to engage from within the faith communities and the wider city to ensure a genuine multi-agency approach that has as positive an outcome as possible.

Below are some of the key points that I note from Rob's presentation and the discussion that follows. I have not included specific details about the police investigation. These are available from the police in a variety of formats and sources.

• The police have to secure the trust and confidence of communities, families and individuals, following due process. Everyone involved has to understand that this can't be done overnight and that patience is required.
• We must move away from profiling any of our communities as predator and prey or representing the relationship between any of our communities as that of victimiser and victim
• This horrific incident is also an unasked for opportunity for people of diverse communities to come together and make common cause for a positive and progressive attitude to the issues that provoked this incident.
• We all have to help steer the narrative away from any sense of condoning the behaviour of people taking the law into their own hands.
• There needs to be a general realisation that the police are dealing with criminal behaviour, not a faith-based issue - especially not of one community set against another
• Faith community leaders, spokespeople, workers and activists should be seeking ways to join with professionals, working across faith and cultural  boundaries to protect young and vulnerable people of all communities
• The faith communities and organisations, individually and collectively, have a responsibility to take heat out of the situation via platforms within communities including their own media, mainstream media, social media, broadcast and print media in community languages
• There should be regular, frequent meetings between collective representatives of faith communities an organisations with police, the first of these being in a month's time

Closing the meeting, Cllr Manjula Sood (Chair of Leicester Council of Faiths) assured all those present that our prayers and thoughts are with those who were injured in the incident, their families and friends.

This afternoon I'd been twice by BBC Radio Leicester, with a request to go live on air tomorrow morning to speak for the Council of Faiths about the East Park Road incident and about this meeting with Leicestershire Police. Given the sensitivity of the issue, I couldn't help thinking that it might be better for an Executive Officer of the Council of Faiths to appear on the radio this time. I'd sent an email to the officers before this meeting voicing my concerns and asking that we make a decision, so that I could get back to the station with the name of the person who would speak. At the end of the meeting, our Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary and I agree that I should do it. Rob, Fayyaz and I put our heads together for five minutes and agree the general content and tone of what I should say. I phone Radio Leicester just after 2200 and set up an interview by phone for just after 0800 tomorrow morning.

As we're leaving, Fayyaz passes me a draft statement about this evenign's meeting which will be useful in dealing with the media and other interested parties:

"Leicester Council of Faiths facilitated a meeting with faith leaders, the local community and police representatives. The meeting unanimously condemned the criminality involved in the incident and all have agreed to work to communicate with their grass roots communities that everything should be done to support the police investigation. They also agreed to dispel any myths and rumours among the public. The group agreed to meet regularly and assist each other in keeping Leicester united against hate and crime."