Two men have been handed significant prison sentences for the historic rape of a vulnerable teenage girl in Rotherham more than 25 years ago.
Details of the Attacks
Kessur Ajaib, 44, and Mohammed Makhmood, 43, were convicted of sexually abusing the girl over a two-year period starting in 1999. The victim was just 14 years old when Ajaib first targeted her. According to evidence presented by the National Crime Agency (NCA), Ajaib engaged the girl in conversation, gave her alcohol, and then lured her to a residential alleyway where he raped her.
Makhmood carried out a separate attack after finding the same girl waiting at a bus stop one evening. He invited her to smoke a cigarette with him before leading her to a nearby graveyard and raping her.
Sentencing and Investigation
At Sheffield Crown Court, Ajaib was sentenced to eight years and six months for rape, with a further three-year term, to run concurrently, for indecent assault. Makhmood received a seven-year prison sentence. Both men must now sign the sex offenders register for life.
The crimes were uncovered by officers from Operation Stovewood, the NCA's major investigation into non-familial child sexual exploitation in Rotherham. Investigators contacted the victim after identifying that she may have been abused as a child. Ajaib and Makhmood were charged in February 2024 and convicted in July of this year.
Statements from Officials
NCA senior investigating officer Alan Hastings praised the victim's courage. "It must have been extremely difficult for the woman to relive that period in her life," he said, "but the information she shared enabled us to identify corroborating evidence and secure justice for her."
Liz Fell, a specialist prosecutor for the CPS Organised Child Sexual Abuse Unit, stated: "These defendants have now been held accountable for their horrific crimes." She thanked the women involved for their "immense courage" in coming forward and staying engaged throughout the legal process.
In a related case, a co-defendant, Sageer Hussain, 40, of Rotherham, received a further three-year sentence on 11 November for raping a second girl. He is already serving a 19-year sentence for the rape of another child. To date, Operation Stovewood has secured the convictions of 49 people for abuse alleged to have occurred in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.
