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A significant chapter in the long-running investigation into the Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal closed this week at Sheffield Crown Court as two men were handed prison sentences for the historic rape of a teenage girl. Kessur Ajaib, 44, and Mohammed Makhmood, 43, both of British-Pakistani heritage, were sentenced for crimes committed more than two decades ago against a victim who was aged between 14 and 16 at the time of the attacks. These convictions are the latest result of Operation Stovewood, a massive undertaking by the National Crime Agency (NCA) tasked with uncovering the systemic grooming and abuse that plagued the South Yorkshire town between 1997 and 2013.
The court proceedings offered a harrowing look into the nature of the abuse. During the trial, evidence was presented detailing the cruelty of the offenders, specifically noting that after Mohammed Makhmood raped the young victim, he subjected her to further degradation by calling her demeaning names, spitting on her, and laughing at her. For his crimes, Makhmood received a seven-year custodial sentence. Kessur Ajaib received a more significant sentence of eight-and-a-half years, having been found guilty of one count of rape and one count of indecent assault. Both men, like many identified in the Operation Stovewood investigations, are part of the local British-Pakistani community, a demographic factor that has been a central point of discussion in the wider context of the Rotherham grooming scandal reports.
The sentencing of Ajaib and Makhmood follows the earlier conviction of a third co-defendant, Sageer Hussain, who was sentenced last month. Hussain was convicted of raping a different victim, also aged approximately 14 at the time. Because Hussain was only 14 years old himself when the crime occurred, he received a three-year sentence. The judge presiding over the case highlighted the "tragic" nature of the victim-impact statements, noting that the men intentionally exploited the extreme vulnerability of a child.
The victim in the case against Ajaib and Makhmood was present in court to witness the sentencing. In a powerful statement read by the prosecution, she described the psychological toll of growing up in an environment where such abuse was normalized. She explained that for years she did not even realize she was being abused because the behavior was so prevalent among her peer group. This "normalization" of exploitation led to years of self-blame, shame, and a feeling of being treated as nothing more than a "sex commodity." Her testimony underscored the "brainwashing" techniques used by grooming networks to keep victims silent.
Operation Stovewood remains one of the largest investigations of its kind in United Kingdom history. Since its inception, the NCA has identified hundreds of victims and suspects, meticulously piecing together evidence from decades-old cases. While the arrests of Ajaib and Makhmood provide a sense of legal resolution for one victim, the broader investigation continues to scrutinize the systemic failures that allowed such widespread abuse to remain unchecked for sixteen years. The NCA maintains that every conviction serves as a vital step in providing justice for the survivors of the Rotherham scandal.
