Seven men have been sentenced to a combined 174 years in prison for the sexual exploitation of two vulnerable girls in northern England, marking another chapter in the country’s long-running grooming gang scandal.
The convictions, handed down at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court on October 1, 2025, followed a trial earlier this year involving 50 offences, including 30 counts of rape, committed between 2001 and 2006. Prosecutor Rossano Scamardella told jurors the victims were “passed around for sex, abused, degraded and then discarded.”
The case highlights ongoing failures in child protection. Both victims were known to social services at the time, and officials were aware of their involvement with older men. Similar patterns have emerged in other towns across England, raising questions about institutional responses to child exploitation.
Sentences for the men range from 12 to 35 years, according to the Crown Prosecution Service. All had denied the charges but were unanimously convicted.
The scandal has resurfaced in national politics. Prime Minister Keir Starmer faced criticism earlier this year from Elon Musk, who accused him of failing to address grooming gangs during his tenure as Britain’s chief prosecutor—an accusation Starmer rejected. In June, Starmer confirmed he would launch a national inquiry into grooming gangs, following the convictions.
This case echoes findings from a 2014 inquiry in Rotherham, which revealed at least 1,400 children had been exploited between 1997 and 2013. That report noted most known perpetrators were of Pakistani heritage and warned that officials at times avoided addressing ethnic factors out of fear of being seen as racist.
Grooming gang cases continue to result in high-profile prosecutions and inquiries across England, underscoring the scale and sensitivity of the issue.
