Rotherham gang leader given further sentence over sexual abuse of another child

Mohammed Imran Ali Akhtar was jailed in 2018 for 23 years over sexual offences committed between 1998 and 2005. He was initially charged in relation to Operation Stovewood which was an investigation into the sexual exploitation that occurred in Rotherham. On Friday 24th May 2024, he was given a 12-year prison sentence which will run at the same time as his current sentence for sexual abuse on a child between 2001 and 2003. The victim was aged 13 or 14 at the time of the abuse.

The court heard how the victim was plied with drugs and alcohol and Akhtar would engage in sexual activity with the victim four or five times a week for a year. The victim was vulnerable and believed she was in a real relationship with Akhtar.  The sexual abuse would occur in his car and in an empty house in Rotherham. 

The young girl came forward after Akhtar’s conviction was reported in the news in 2018. At the time of the offences the court heard that the victim was a ‘very vulnerable girl who was living in difficult circumstances. ‘

Upon Sentencing Akhtar, Judge Wright spoke on the bravery of the victim for coming forward regarding the abuse she suffered. ‘Her childhood and adolescence can never be reclaimed, the effect of your offending on her cannot be overestimated.’