Mr. Zahid and his co-defendants were investigated by a child sexual exploitation investigations unit within the Greater Manchester Police that was formed in 2021, the police said in a statement. The force said it was one of two major investigations that have so far resulted in 32 offenders being jailed for a combined total of 474 years for grooming gang activity in Rochdale. In January, the grooming gangs issue returned to international headlines after Elon Musk, the billionaire tech mogul, used his social media platform to post a series of vitriolic posts about it that included many inaccuracies and smears. In response to growing public pressure, the government announced a full national inquiry into the issue in June. “The men abused, degraded and then discarded the victims when they were just children,” he said.

Source: The Times October 01, 2025 19:30 UTC