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| Leicester child prostitution trial: Men admit paying girl, 16, for sex | Leicester child prostitution trial: Men admit paying girl, 16, for sex |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Three men have admitted paying a "very damaged and vulnerable" 16-year-old girl for sex. | Three men have admitted paying a "very damaged and vulnerable" 16-year-old girl for sex. |
| They pleaded guilty shortly before the girl was due to give evidence in the men's trial at Leicester Crown Court. | They pleaded guilty shortly before the girl was due to give evidence in the men's trial at Leicester Crown Court. |
| Jurors had heard that the girl, who told the men she was a prostitute, needed to make money as her parents had threatened to throw her out. | Jurors had heard that the girl, who told the men she was a prostitute, needed to make money as her parents had threatened to throw her out. |
| Aabidali Mubarak Ali, 39, Rakib Iacub, 20, and Wajid Usman, all of Leicester, will be sentenced on 30 August. | Aabidali Mubarak Ali, 39, Rakib Iacub, 20, and Wajid Usman, all of Leicester, will be sentenced on 30 August. |
| They had been accused of a total of 22 charges, but between them admitted seven of them. | They had been accused of a total of 22 charges, but between them admitted seven of them. |
| Six men charged | |
| Judge Michael Pert QC has indicated he is likely to jail the men. | Judge Michael Pert QC has indicated he is likely to jail the men. |
| He told their barristers: "I make it plain that you have an uphill struggle in persuading me that anything other than a custodial sentence can be appropriate for any of these defendants." | He told their barristers: "I make it plain that you have an uphill struggle in persuading me that anything other than a custodial sentence can be appropriate for any of these defendants." |
| Three other men, who had previously pleaded guilty to either paying the girl for sex or attempting to do so, will be sentenced on the same day. | Three other men, who had previously pleaded guilty to either paying the girl for sex or attempting to do so, will be sentenced on the same day. |
| Opening the case for the prosecution, barrister Matthew Lowe said: "She was a very damaged and vulnerable 16-year-old girl from a Sikh family." | Opening the case for the prosecution, barrister Matthew Lowe said: "She was a very damaged and vulnerable 16-year-old girl from a Sikh family." |
| Jurors heard that the girl self-harmed, smoked cannabis, abused alcohol and had run away briefly to Derby. | Jurors heard that the girl self-harmed, smoked cannabis, abused alcohol and had run away briefly to Derby. |
| In a police interview played to jurors, she said her parents had been threatening to throw her out of their home for a year, and claimed social services were not willing to give her somewhere to live. | In a police interview played to jurors, she said her parents had been threatening to throw her out of their home for a year, and claimed social services were not willing to give her somewhere to live. |
| She said she needed to make money to move out and had tried to get a normal job but nobody had responded to the CVs she sent. | She said she needed to make money to move out and had tried to get a normal job but nobody had responded to the CVs she sent. |
| Friends had offered her money, she said, but she felt she needed to give something back in return, so she offered sex to boys at college for £20. | Friends had offered her money, she said, but she felt she needed to give something back in return, so she offered sex to boys at college for £20. |
| The girl then met Iacub by chance at a Diwali festival. | The girl then met Iacub by chance at a Diwali festival. |
| He introduced her to other men, and she had sex with them at locations around Leicester, including a flat above the Moghul Durbar restaurant in East Park Road. | He introduced her to other men, and she had sex with them at locations around Leicester, including a flat above the Moghul Durbar restaurant in East Park Road. |
| Jurors were told that a group of people later attacked the restaurant, which led police to become involved. | |
| The offences all happened between 1 November last year and 2 January this year. | The offences all happened between 1 November last year and 2 January this year. |
| Ali, of Guthlaxton Street, admitted two counts of paying for sexual services of a child and one count of facilitating child prostitution. | |
| 'Isolated incident' | |
| Iacub, of Maynard Road, admitted two counts of paying for sexual services of a child, and one count of facilitating child prostitution. | |
| Usman, of East Park Road, admitted one count of paying for sexual services of a child. | |
| A report needs to be prepared before Usman can be sentenced, partly because he is an illegal immigrant from Afghanistan. | A report needs to be prepared before Usman can be sentenced, partly because he is an illegal immigrant from Afghanistan. |
| Speaking through an interpreter he said he was 17 but he is thought to be aged over 21, the court heard. | |
| Det Supt David Sandall, of Leicestershire Police, said a number of people were still on bail in connection with the investigation. | |
| But he said the girl's abuse appeared "at this stage" to be an "isolated incident". | |
| "The police have made repeated enquiries among the victim's friends, associates and fellow students, but no-one else has come forward to say they have experienced similar abuse from this group of men," he said. |