Court hears seven young girls were used as "sexual commodities"
A jury at Stafford Crown Court today heard that nine Asian men from the Telford area used seven young girls as "sexual commodities" for child prostitution, trafficking and rape.
The victims, who cannot be identified and were under the age of 16, had been plied with drink, drugs and gifts before being "sold or gifted" to other Asian men who paid to have sex with them in the Telford area as well as at hotels in Stoke-on-Trent and Manchester.
The girls were said to have received drugs, cash, alcohol, meals and phone credit in exchange for sex with some of the defendants.
The nine defendants Ahdel Ali, 23, Murbarek Ali, 28, Mohammed Ali Sultan, 24, Tanveer Ahmed, 39, Mahroof Khan, 33, Noshad Hussain, 21, Mohammed Islam Choudhrey, 52, Mohammed Younis, 59, and 34-year-old Abdul Rouf deny charges including rape, controlling child prostitution and sexual activity with girls under the age of 16.
Deborah Gould, prosecuting, said the nine men variously trafficked, raped or sexually abused girls, both over and under the age of 16, over a considerable period of time.
She said the case was not about race, religion, colour or creed and it was not claimed that the men had a specific interest in children or that it was a "paedophile ring".
The jury heard that the defendants may seek to paint the victims as anti-social, dishonest, untruthful and promiscuous young women who lived entirely selfish lives and could not be controlled by parents or teachers.
She said: "These are myths without foundation. The prosecution claim these men ensnared these girls. They had cars, jobs and money which gave them both freedom and power.
"They enticed the girls, groomed the girls and exploited them either for their own sexual gratification or for money."
She said some of the girls thought they were in love with their abusers and that the abusers were in love with them.
More than 50 charges have been made relating to the alleged sexual abuse and exploitation of the girls in the Telford area between September, 2007 and December, 2009.
The jury was told the trial was the result of a West Mercia Police inquiry, codenamed Operation Chalice, which started after concerns were raised by teachers, parents and others about sexual abuse and exploitation of teenage girls in the Wellington area.
The trial continues.
