Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court. EPA Yonhap News. 

Seven men accused of systematically sexually exploiting minors in the UK have been sentenced to a combined total of 174 years in prison.

According to Reuters, AFP, and the BBC on the 1st (local time), the defendants were found guilty in June of 50 charges, including 30 counts of sexual assault, between 2001 and 2006. They were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 12 to 35 years each at the sentencing hearing held at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court today.

Prosecutors stated that the defendants, all of South Asian descent, including ringleader Muhammad Zahid (65), who was born in Pakistan, and Mushtaq Ahmed (67), also born in Pakistan, sexually assaulted at least two white girls from the age of 13, making them sex slaves and forcing them into sexual relations with multiple men.

This organized grooming and sexual offending against minors has been a major controversy in British society for decades.

Numerous investigation results to date indicate that multiple criminal organizations, largely comprised of South Asian members, have sexually exploited and abused thousands of girls over several decades in various regions of the UK. The majority of victims were white girls from disadvantaged family backgrounds.

However, there have been repeated criticisms of insufficient investigations and prosecutions of the perpetrators.

Far-right activists in the UK, including Tommy Robinson, have used this issue as a justification for anti-immigration sentiments. Earlier this year, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, launched an attack, claiming the UK government under Keir Starmer has failed to adequately address this issue.

The Starmer government, which had previously maintained that local investigations were sufficient, commissioned an independent expert to conduct a nationwide re-investigation in June.

Regarding the highly publicized Rochdale sexual exploitation case, 32 offenders have so far been convicted, with their sentences totaling approximately 450 years.

Yonhap News