Five Found Guilty of Grooming and Exploiting Teenage Girls for Sex

Four men and a woman have been found guilty of offences linked to the sexual exploitation and abuse of three teenage girls in North Wales.

Mustafa Iqbal, Mohamed Arshad, Ziaullah Badshah and Jaswinder Singh were convicted of conspiracy offences relating to the trafficking and exploitation of the victims, who were aged 14, 15 and 16 at the time.

At Caernarfon Crown Court, Iqbal, Arshad and Badshah were also convicted of rape offences. Sarah Gray was found guilty of perverting the course of justice and assisting an offender.

The four men have been remanded in custody ahead of sentencing on 25 September, while Gray has been released on bail.

The prosecution said the three girls, referred to in court as Child A, Child B and Child C, had been treated as "sexual commodities" by the men.

Prosecutor Owen Edwards KC told the court that the defendants had taken advantage of the vulnerabilities of the young victims, with Child B described as having been subjected to particularly serious exploitation.

The court heard that the teenagers were supplied with drugs and subjected to sexual abuse at a number of locations, including cars, homes and businesses in Rhyl, Denbighshire, and the surrounding area between April 2022 and March 2024.

Girls targeted in Rhyl

The court heard that Child B, who was 15, and Child C, who was 14, were approached by Iqbal, then aged 43, near a petrol station in Rhyl.

The prosecution said he persuaded the girls to return to his home, where they later came into contact with Arshad and Badshah.

During the trial, the jury heard evidence that the girls had told the men they were 17. The court also heard that cannabis was consumed and that a game of spin the bottle was played.

Badshah, who arrived in Rhyl as a refugee from Pakistan at the age of 15, admitted kissing both girls and later having sex with Child B at his home.

Badshah, from Rhyl, was found guilty of two counts of rape, two counts of conspiracy to traffic, two counts of conspiracy to require a person to perform compulsory labour, and supplying cannabis to another person.

Arshad, a former coffee shop owner, was convicted of three counts of rape, two counts of conspiracy to traffic, two counts of conspiracy to require a person to perform compulsory labour and supplying cannabis.

The jury also heard that one of the rape offences involving Arshad took place in an alleyway outside his former business, Zayn's Coffee House.

Victim was living in care

Iqbal was convicted of raping Child B and sexually assaulting Child C. He was also convicted of raping Child A, who was 16 and living in a care home at the time.

The court heard that Iqbal was described during the trial as a drug dealer and that he supplied Child A with crack cocaine and cannabis in exchange for sex.

He was convicted of 21 offences, including four counts of rape and three counts of sexual assault.

His convictions also included conspiracy to traffic, conspiracy to supply cannabis and cocaine, and breaching a trafficking risk order. He had previously pleaded guilty to possessing a prohibited weapon.

The wider investigation into the group began after another associate of the men took Child B to London.

Jaswinder Singh, a former builder aged 61, claimed the teenager was accompanying him to look after his dog and denied that there was any sexual motive behind the journey to visit his family in London.

However, concerns were raised about the circumstances of the trip and the matter was reported to police.

Singh was subsequently found guilty of two counts of conspiracy to traffic and supplying cannabis to another person.

Sarah Gray, 53, was also found guilty of conspiracy to supply cocaine and conspiracy to supply cannabis.

Police praise victims for coming forward

Following the guilty verdicts, Detective Chief Inspector Richard Sidney said the focus should remain on the three young victims.

He said the girls were children aged between 14 and 16 when they were subjected to exploitation and abuse by adults who, prosecutors argued, had sought to manipulate and control them for their own benefit.

"No child should have to experience what these young women endured," he said.

The senior investigating officer added that the five defendants had denied almost every allegation made against them from the beginning of the investigation.

He said the verdicts should send a clear message that those who target vulnerable children for grooming and exploitation would be pursued by law enforcement.

The convictions bring an end to a lengthy criminal investigation into the exploitation of three vulnerable teenagers.

The case has also renewed attention on the importance of protecting children at risk of grooming, ensuring that warning signs are recognised early and that victims have the support needed to come forward and seek help.

The defendants will now face sentencing, with the four men remaining in custody until the hearing on 25 September.