Two relatives who operated market stalls in Greater Manchester have been sentenced to a combined 58 years in prison for sexually exploiting vulnerable teenagers during the late 1990s.
Manzorr Hussain, 54, and Imtiaz Ali, 53, both cousins who ran businesses at Bury Market, were found guilty of numerous offenses against five girls between the ages of 13 and 16. The convictions followed a four-week trial at Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester earlier this year.
Sentencing Details
Hussain received a 30-year sentence after being convicted on 14 counts, including seven charges of rape and seven of indecent assault. Ali was sentenced to 28 years for 11 offenses: five rape charges, five indecent assault charges, and one attempted indecent assault charge.
During the sentencing hearing, Judge Bernadette Baxter condemned the men’s actions, stating they had demonstrated no remorse for their behavior. The judge characterized their crimes as a deliberate “campaign of rape” against young girls who were groomed, sexually exploited, and abused.
Victim Impact
One survivor delivered an emotional statement in court, describing how she endured three years of abuse beginning at age 13, which led to decades of trauma. Speaking from behind a protective screen, she called the perpetrators “scum of the earth” and “the lowest of the low.”
The victim also criticized any officials or agencies that may have ignored warning signs, stating that those who “covered up or turned a blind eye are all complicit.”
Pattern of Abuse
The prosecution presented evidence that the cousins systematically targeted vulnerable girls from troubled backgrounds. They used grooming tactics including providing attention, gifts, drugs, and alcohol to make the victims feel obligated to them.
The abuse occurred at various locations throughout the region and in Wales, including private residences, vehicles, hotels, and commercial properties. Evidence showed that victims were supplied with substances including GHB, LSD, amphetamines, and cannabis before being sexually assaulted.
In one particularly disturbing instance, prosecutors detailed how a 14 or 15-year-old girl was brought to a flat where Hussain had arranged for multiple unknown men to assault her in succession. Another victim reported being threatened with abandonment on the moors if she refused to comply.
A sixth alleged victim was unable to testify due to the trauma of reliving the experience.
Investigation and Prosecution
Chief Inspector Ian Partington of Greater Manchester Police described the convicted men as “sexual predators who deliberately targeted vulnerable young girls.” He praised the courage of the first victim who came forward, which opened the investigation into the wider abuse network.
Investigators were able to build their case using the victims’ detailed recollections of specific locations and addresses where abuse occurred, corroborated by historical records from social services and educational institutions. This evidence helped establish timelines connecting the defendants to particular incidents and dates.
Ali arrived in the UK from Pakistan in 1996 and began perpetrating these crimes shortly thereafter alongside relatives. A third family member, Hussain’s older brother Ghulam Hussain, 64, was arrested during the investigation but fled the country before trial. He is believed to be in Pakistan.
Regional Context
This case follows similar prosecutions in the Greater Manchester area. Two months prior, another grooming network based in nearby Rochdale received sentences totaling 174 years for similar crimes against schoolgirls during the early 2000s.
The convictions underscore ongoing efforts by law enforcement to pursue justice for historic child sexual exploitation cases, even when decades have passed since the offenses occurred.
