Brothers and cousin accused of grooming and abusing teen girls

In Manchester Crown Court, prosecutors detail how market stall operators allegedly groomed five troubled teens with booze and narcotics before orchestrated rapes in homes, cars, and a hotel in Bury.

Two brothers and their cousin stand accused of a protracted campaign of grooming and sexual abuse targeting five vulnerable teenage girls in Bury during the late 1990s, a jury at Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court has heard.

Prosecutors opened the case by alleging that Manzoor Hussain, 54, and his cousin Imtiaz Ali, 53, alongside Manzoor’s older brother Ghulam Hussain, 64, exploited the girls’ troubled backgrounds through a calculated process involving alcohol, drugs, and promises of companionship.

The trial, which continues, centres on claims of repeated assaults occurring in private residences, a hotel, vehicles, and even a van.

Read more: Sex predator, 24, jailed for 7 years over child grooming

Manzorr Hussain, formerly of Manchester Road in Bury, faces seven counts of rape and seven counts of indecent assault, all of which he denies.

Imtiaz Ali, of Ainsworth Road in Radcliffe, Bury, is charged with five counts of rape, five counts of indecent assault, and one count of attempted indecent assault; he too contests every allegation.

Jurors were informed that Ghulam Hussain, who shared the Manchester Road address with his family, had been charged with multiple sexual offences but has since fled the country, rendering his culpability beyond the scope of their deliberations.

In her opening address, prosecutor Anna Pope outlined a narrative of systematic predation, describing how the men— all operators of market stalls in the area—allegedly identified and isolated the girls, who were aged in their mid-teens at the time.

Read more: Darlington Pub Predator Jailed for Nearly Six Years

These young women, now in their forties, came forward years later to recount experiences marked by coercion and manipulation, Ms Pope said.

The court heard that the trio purported to offer refuge and excitement—lifts in cars, a welcoming space to gather, and the allure of substances—only to leverage these gestures as debts of obligation.

What began as apparent gestures of kindness allegedly escalated into demands for sexual servitude, exploiting the power imbalance and the girls’ personal vulnerabilities.

Ms Pope positioned Ghulam Hussain as the central figure in this alleged network, claiming he not only perpetrated abuses himself but orchestrated the involvement of others, including his brother Manzoor and cousin Imtiaz, by ‘passing’ the girls among associates.

Read more: Glasgow predator jailed for raping student in city centre

Manzoor Hussain, in particular, stands accused of not only direct assaults but also of facilitating access for additional perpetrators, according to the prosecution’s account.

The allegations extend to gatherings at a property linked to Imtiaz Ali, where alcohol and drugs were offered and the girls were compelled to perform sexual acts.

One complainant, said to have been raped by both defendants on trial, recounted a chilling threat: refusal to comply would result in being driven to the moors, stripped, and abandoned.

Such intimidation, Ms Pope argued, underscored the coercive nature of the encounters, stripping away any pretence of choice.

The alleged offences took place in the late 1990s, a period when societal awareness of grooming offences was lower, though the prosecution emphasised that the legal standards for consent and exploitation were firmly in place.

Jurors have been cautioned against speculation regarding Ghulam Hussain’s absence, with directions that it bears no implication on the charges against his relatives.

The trial continues.

Well, that’s all for now. But until our next article, please stay tuned, stay informed, but most of all stay safe, and I’ll see you then.