Женщина в суде утверждает, что её сексуально эксплуатировали в Рочдейле почти 40 лет назад

'I was being groomed', claims woman who alleges she was sexually abused in Rochdale nearly four decades ago Girl C claims she was abused by Tahir Rashid, then 19 A woman who alleges that she was sexually abused in Rochdale in the late 1980s told a jury that she was ‘groomed’. Six men are on trial accused of historic sexual offences allegedly committed against three girls in Rochdale. Tahir Rashid, 55, Mohammed Saleem, 47, Sucklane Shah, 47, Amjad Mahmood, 54, Iftaq Hussain, 46, and Arshad Mohammed, 56, deny all the charges they face. The complainants are referred to as Girl A, Girl B and Girl C for legal reasons. The alleged abuse of Girl C is claimed to have taken place in the late 1980s, with the alleged ‘exploitation’ of Girl A and B said to have occurred in the mid-2000s. Click here to hear the latest from Manchester's courts in our newsletter Girl C was allegedly abused by Mr Rashid, described by prosecutors as the ‘undoubted ringleader in this group’, who also allegedly abused Girl A and B, after Girl C moved to Rochdale in the late 1980s. Mr Rashid, also known as 'Taz,' was 19 years old at the time and 'very well built,' Minshull Street Crown Court has heard. Earlier in the trial, prosecutor Rossano Scamardella KC claimed that Mr Rashid began 'buying her presents and even gave her money’. He continued: “This was not generosity from the goodness of his heart; he wanted to have sex with her, which he did on five separate occasions," he said. He told the jury Mr Rashid 'took her to various flats and houses and forced himself on her', adding that he was 'rough with her' and 'often held her down'. Under cross-examination by Mr Rashid’s barrister, Ayaz Qazi KC, Girl C, accepted that she’d been to Alton Towers with the defendant and another man, before she alleges any sexual abuse took place. Mr Qazi asked Girl C why she continued to see Mr Rashid after the first incident when she alleges he had raped her. “Because I was being groomed, that’s why,” she replied. Girl C also claimed she had been ‘threatened’ by Mr Rashid and subjected to ‘physical violence’. Asked why she believed she had been groomed, Girl C, who made her allegations to police in 2014, said: “Maybe grooming someone who has a single parent, a mother who works full time. “There is a vulnerability there because of those things. I believe that adults use those things because they can see that from the adult’s perspective. I think they use those and take their opportunities where they can.” Speaking about the first alleged incident, Mr Qazi said: “You knew it was rape then, you know it was rape since, and you knew it was rape now, don’t you?” “I don’t remember thinking that, I don’t remember having a word to name what had happened,” she said. Mr Rashid, of Hudsons Walk, Rochdale, denies 12 counts of rape, three counts of indecent assault and one count of assault by penetration. The charges include allegations against all three complainants. Mr Saleem, of Bradley Smithy Close, Rochdale denies eight counts of rape allegedly committed against Girl A. Mr Shah, of Crawford Street, Rochdale, denies two counts of rape allegedly committed against Girl A. Mr Mohammed, of Merefield Street, Rochdale, denies four counts of rape and one count of assault by penetration. The charges include allegations against Girl A and Girl B. Mr Hussain, of Hey Street, Rochdale, denies three counts of rape allegedly committed against Girl A. Mr Mahmood, of Channing Street, Rochdale, denies 11 counts of rape, two counts of indecency with a child, two counts of assault by penetration and one count of indecent assault. The charges include allegations against Girl A and Girl B. Proceeding.