[bitontheslide]

Twenty men have been found guilty of being part of a grooming gang that raped and abused girls as young as 11 in Huddersfield.

The men were convicted of more than 120 offences against 15 girls.

Victims were plied with drink and drugs and then "used and abused at will" in a seven year "campaign of rape and abuse" between 2004 and 2011.

At Leeds Crown Court, the ringleader, Amere Singh Dhaliwal, 35, was jailed for life with a minimum of 18 years.

Other members of the gang were jailed for between five and 18 years.

Details of the men's convictions and sentences can only now be published after reporting restrictions on a series of trials were partially lifted.

During the three trials jurors heard how the men - who were known by nicknames such as Dracula, Beastie and Bully - preyed on young, vulnerable girls.

Jailing 16 of the men earlier this year, Judge Geoffrey Marson QC said: "The way you treated these girls defies understanding; this abuse was vile and wicked.

"As cases of sexual abuse with which the courts have to deal, this case comes top of the scale."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-45918845

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About time