Fayaz Ahmed

On 17 January 2025, Fayaz Ahmed, aged 45 and formerly of Devonshire Street in Keighley, received a seven-and-a-half-year prison sentence in absentia at Bradford Crown Court for two counts of rape against a vulnerable girl aged 13 to 14 in the late 1990s. Like his brother Imtiaz, Fayaz absconded during a retrial in 2024 and is believed to be abroad; West Yorkshire Police have issued a bench warrant for his arrest.

The court details revealed that Fayaz, who was 17 or 18 at the time of the offences, travelled with the girl and another man to a school ground or woods, where they raped her in turn. Judge Ahmed Nadim noted that her vulnerability 'would have been known' to Fayaz, and the brothers were introduced to her via a controlling couple who forced her into sex work. The victim, now in her 40s, spoke of being groomed, drugged with alcohol and heroin to facilitate the abuse, and passed among men, resulting in addiction and deep trauma. She stated: 'If I had been listened to sooner rather than later, maybe, just maybe, my life could have been different,' and described losing her identity due to the inflicted damage.

Judge Nadim lambasted the 1990s responses from authorities, as the girl's mother repeatedly reported her missing without action, with police and social services deeming the victims 'authoresses of their own misfortunes'. Prosecutor Catherine Duffy emphasised the girl's isolation, while trial evidence included her recollection of men queuing for sex in a flat. Fayaz had sacked his lawyers before fleeing, underscoring the challenges in the case.

Part of a group of eight men convicted for abusing two children in Keighley, this sentencing followed trials in late 2024, with restrictions lifted to publicise the details. Det Ch Insp Vicky Greenbank of West Yorkshire Police hailed the victims' courage in a years-long probe, amid broader governmental scrutiny of grooming gangs, including a rapid audit announced by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper.