Eight men jailed for sexually abusing child in Bradford

Eight men have been sentenced for their role in the sexual exploitation of a vulnerable child in Bradford more than 20 years ago.  

The Crown Prosecution Service’s dedicated Organised Child Sexual Abuse Unit prosecuted the defendants following an investigation by West Yorkshire Police. 

Reporting restrictions have now been lifted, allowing the case to be reported for the first time since proceedings began in January 2025.

Between 2002 and 2004, the victim, aged 13 to 16, was particularly vulnerable spending time in local authority care during the offending period. 

She was assaulted by each defendant separately during this time, with some defendants abusing her on multiple occasions. 

Their sentences range from six-and-a-half years to 23 years' imprisonment. 

Martin McRobb, Specialist Prosecutor for the CPS, said: “The defendants in this case deliberately targeted a child and exploited her vulnerabilities for their own selfish sexual gratification. The victim was manipulated, threatened, passed around and treated as an object by men who showed a callous disregard for her wellbeing and dignity.

“The enormous scale of sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of these men has had a profound and lasting impact on her life. Despite this trauma, she has shown extraordinary courage and resilience in coming forward and remaining engaged throughout this lengthy legal process. We are extremely grateful to her, and I hope she can find some closure knowing her evidence was instrumental in securing justice.

“This has been a complex and challenging case which, due to the number of defendants involved, required us to prepare for and present evidence in separate trials to successfully secure this outcome.

"The Crown Prosecution Service remains committed to prosecuting those who commit child sexual abuse, no matter how much time has passed since the offending took place.”

To deal with the most complex and challenging child sexual abuse cases like this, the CPS has established a dedicated national Organised Child Sexual Abuse Unit where Specialist Prosecutors use their expertise and experience to build strong cases and increase the number of successful prosecutions. 

Trial 1: 

On 29 January 2025, Raja Zulqurnean, 42, was found guilty following the first trial of five counts of indecent assault and six counts of rape committed between 2002 and 2004. 

Bradford Crown Court heard that Zulqurnean would lock the victim in a property for periods of time, use her for sex and then leave her, coming and going as he pleased. 

It was heard that he would go through her phone and tell her how to dress. Zulqurnean stopped her seeing her own family and going to school, took her money, and would get aggressive and violent towards her – the victim recalled one occasion where he hit her in the head with an iron and told her to give a false story to the hospital and police about the injury. 

On 14 May 2025, Zulqurnean was sentenced to 18 years' imprisonment. Following a referral made by the CPS to the Attorney General’s Office, the case was referred to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme. Zulqurnean’s previous sentence was quashed, and a new sentence of 23 years' imprisonment was imposed on 5 September 2025. 

Trials 2 and 3: 

Subsequent trials heard that, on separate occasions between 2002 and 2004, the same victim was persistently targeted by males and at various locations she was raped and routinely expected to perform acts of a sexual nature.

A total of seven men were convicted following the second and third trials. 

On 3 October 2025, they received the following sentences:

• Wajid Hussain, 42 – six years and six months' imprisonment
• Mohammed Naheem, 39 – six years and six months' imprisonment
• Nadeem Ali, 39 – five years and nine months imprisonment
• Sarfraz Latif Ahmed, 40 – seven years' imprisonment
• Mohammed Imran Akram, 42 – eight years and six months' imprisonment
• Mohammed Shezad Hussain, 39 – 12 years' imprisonment
• Basharat Iqbal Khaliq, 44 – 21 years' imprisonment.