Rotherham child sex gang victim says she thought she was going to be killed

Six people have been found guilty of 55 serious sexual offences - including rape and forced prositution - against 15 girls

From the left: Brothers Arshid, Basharat and Bannaras Hussain, who have been found guilty of a range of offences involving the sexual exploitation of teenage girls in Rotherham (PA)

A victim of the Rotherham child sex gang has told how she was groomed by Arshid Hussain after meeting him at a party when she was 14 in the late 1990s.

He preyed on the teenager and began waiting for her outside school. Soon he was having sex with her, despite knowing her age, and even though he was 10 years older.

The woman told how he very quickly became controlling and isolated her from family and friends. He became very violent and would not let her do anything without his permission.

“There were times when I thought he was going to kill me,” she said.

Six people were convicted of the sexual exploitation of young girls in the south Yorkshire town - the first successful prosecution of a grooming gang since a 2014 report concluded at least 1,400 children had been abused over the course of 16 years.

Arshid and Basharat Hussain, Bannaras Hussain, Qurban Ali, Karen MacGregor and Shelley Davies were found guilty of 55 serious offences against 15 girls - one as young as 11 - including rape, forced prostitution, indecent assault and false imprisonment.

Sheffield Crown Court heard how the gang "owned" the town and "operated with impunity".

The woman, who cannot be identified, said after the case that going through the investigation had been an “emotional rollercoaster”.

She said she hoped her experiences would give others the resolve to step forward and put more child abusers behind bars.

“It has been 16 years we have waited for this,” she said. “It hasn’t sunk in yet. This can give me some closure. For me, my life starts now. It has been such a mess. I can finally move on.

“The investigation started two-and-a-half years ago and it has been one of the hardest things I have had to do, but it is so worth it.”

The gang is due to be sentenced on Friday.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said it is now investigating 55 claims of police misconduct involving 54 officers in relation to the trial.

One victim told the court how one police officer had actually had sex with some of the girls involved in the exploitation.