Rotherham grooming gang paedophile who raped and tortured victims as young as 11 applies for a move to an open prison
- Banaras Hussain, 43, was sentenced to spend 19 years in prison in 2016
- He raped and tortured girls as young as 11 as part of a prolific grooming gang
A member of a prolific grooming gang in Rotherham who raped and tortured victims as young as 11 has applied to be moved to an open prison in what could prove the first step towards early release.
Banaras Hussain, 43, who is also a convicted drug dealer, is understood to have applied for the move after serving less than half of his 19-year prison sentence.
In 2016, he was jailed after admitting ten charges including rape, indecent assault and actual bodily harm.
He abused his victims over a series of 11 years, and was one of six members of the grooming gang jailed for a total of 103 years.
It emerged during his trial that Hussain was once caught in a police car park with one of his victims while she was performing a sex act on him – but that police simply drove off.
Banaras Hussain, 43, who is also a convicted drug dealer, is understood to have applied for the move after serving less than half of his 19-year prison sentence
Victim Sammy Woodhouse, now 37, described Hussain as ‘one of the most dangerous men in the country’
One of Hussain’s victims, Sammy Woodhouse, described him as ‘one of the most dangerous men in the country’.
The 37-year-old told the Sun: ‘He kidnapped, assaulted, raped and tortured children over a period of several years.
‘Those children are now adults and still struggle every single day because of the horrific acts he and others have committed against them.
‘As a survivor of abuse in Rotherham I feel like we are being failed all over again by the system. Our system is not fit for purpose.
‘People cannot expect victims to come forward and report when we have such horrendous sentences in place.’
Hussain’s brother, and the ringleader, Arshid Hussain was imprisoned for 35 years, brother Basharat Hussain, 39, was handed 25 years and their uncle, Qurban Ali, 53, was jailed for 10 years.
Karen MacGregor, a 58-year-old accomplice, was jailed for 13 years while Shelley Davis, 40, was given an 18-month suspended sentence.
A report released in 2014 found that at least 1,400 children were victims of child sexual abuse in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013, as it slammed police and other professional agencies for not acting, claiming they did not see the children as victims.
A government spokesperson said: ‘Prisoners undergo a robust risk assessment before moving to an open prison and we’ll move them back if they break the rules.’
Source: Read Full Article
