A GANG of three men who groomed and sexually abused a 'vulnerable' school girl across Oxford have been convicted on all counts.

Mohammed Karrar, 44, Bassam Karrar, 39 and Anjum Dogar, 36, had denied 10 counts of rape, indecent assault and conspiracy to rape.

A jury took just five hours and three minutes to find them guilty by a unanimous verdict at Oxford Crown Court this afternoon.

During the trial prosecutor Oliver Saxby QC said that the men had groomed and sexually abused their victim over a number of years in the early 2000s.

He told jurors they had formed part of a wider group of men who 'sexually exploited vulnerable young girls for regular, casual and entirely functional sexual contact, in a car, in a park, in someone's flat.'

He added: "The common theme being sexual gratification that had the appearance of being consensual but in reality, courtesy of the level of exploitation and grooming involved, was anything but consensual."

The victim of the abuse, a woman who cannot be named for legal reasons, also faced her abusers via live video link at court.

She told the jury panel of a number of instances in which she was either raped or sexually assaulted when she was as young as 14.

She recalled being made to dance in her underwear together with another school girl while a number of men watched at an address in Riverside Court, Oxford.

She also described being sexually abused by a group of men at a party at Plowman Tower, Oxford, and told jurors: "I remember sitting on the sofa and I remember people touching me and pulling at my clothes and stuff, and trying to bat them away.

"I felt like there were hands everywhere. Someone had their hands down my trousers trying to put their fingers inside me."

She told the court that she next recalled waking up alone and naked except for a single sock she was wearing, and that she was in a great deal of pain and had bite marks on her body.

It was this rape that led to her becoming pregnant, the court heard.

Dogar and Mohammed Karrar both took to the witness box during the trial in a bid to deny any wrong-doing.

Dogar claimed one instance of abuse - at a parked car in Cutteslowe Park in which the victim was forced to perform sex acts on a number of men - was simply 'banter'.

Karrar claimed he was 'no angel' but told jurors he was not a paedophile or a rapist.

Despite their claims of innocence jurors found all men guilty on all counts.

A sentencing date has not yet been set but is expected to take place at Oxford Crown Court.

The verdicts come after another trial ended earlier this year in which eight men were jailed for grooming a number of victims, including the victim in this case.

Speaking after the verdicts today senior investigating officer, Mark Glover, of Thames Valley Police Major Crime Unit, said: “These men worked together to groom this young victim and to exploit her entirely for their own sexual gratification.

"She believed they were her friends but in reality they were anything but.

“It is thanks to her bravery in coming forward, as well as through two lengthy trials, that they are finally facing justice for their actions. I would like to pay tribute to her courage.

“I would also like to thank the officers involved in this investigation, as well as the Elmore Team, for their hard work and dedication during this long and complex process.

“I know the effect that these offenders’ actions have had on the victim, but I hope that she now feels some sense that justice has been done.”

The verdicts in full:

  • Mohammed Karrar was found guilty by unanimous verdict of three counts of indecent assault, one count of rape and one count of conspiracy to rape.
  • Bassam Karrar was found guilty by unanimous verdict of one count of indecent assault and one count of rape.
  • Dogar was found guilty by unanimous verdict of one count of indecent assault, and three counts of conspiracy to rape.