Mohamed Badreddin

Mohamed Badreddin, aged 23 and a Syrian refugee residing in the UK, co-led a gang with his brother Omar that groomed and sexually abused a 13-year-old girl in Newcastle from August 2018 to April 2019. The group, including Huzaefa Aleboud and Hamoud Al Soaimi, lured the vulnerable victim with alcohol and cigarettes, leading to repeated rapes and assaults near the city centre castle and behind a burger restaurant, as well as in her own home. Badreddin, who was 17 at the time, was described as 'aggressive and rough' during the attacks and threatened the girl that his brother would hurt her if she did not comply.

Newcastle Crown Court heard from prosecutor Anne Richardson that the brothers told the victim she would be killed or taken to another country, instilling terror to maintain control. Judge Amanda Rippon noted that the Badreddins exploited the girl's extreme vulnerability, passing her around the group and mocking her distress, even as she begged for mercy and revealed her self-harm. The victim, now 19, stated in court that the men had 'tortured' her, turning her childhood into a 'living nightmare' that devastated her family and led her to drop out of school.

Barrister Sue Hirst, in mitigation, highlighted Mohamed's upbringing in a Syrian warzone. Despite this, the court imposed a 13-year custodial sentence on 1 March 2024 for six counts of rape and one count of assault by penetration. He is required to register as a sex offender for life and faces a restraining order barring contact with the victim and other named girls. The BBC's coverage underscores the severity of these child sex offences, contrasting with the brothers' prior acquittal in a 2016 sexual assault case.

Badreddin also received an additional one-year term for violent disorder in a 2020 Newcastle incident involving clashes with police during a protest, where bottles were thrown.