Miah brothers jailed for grooming and sexually abusing girls in Leeds and Barrow-in-Furness

Three brothers have been jailed after underage girls in Leeds and Barrow-in-Furness were sexually abused and raped over a number of years.

The three men were convicted in October last year, with the abuse taking place between 1996 and 2010.

Shaha Amran Miah, 49, known as Jai; Shaha Alman Miah, 47, known as Ali; and Shah Joman Miah, 38, known as Sarj, all pleaded not guilty.

Sarj has since admitted his crimes. However, the judge said it could be a cynical attempt for leniency and did not give him any credit.

Read more: Key witness in sexual abuse case describes grooming

They were sentenced on Friday to the following:

• Shaha Amran Miah – life with a minimum term of 20 years and 338 days

• Shaha Alman Miah – 10 years in prison and four years on licence

• Shah Joman Miah – life with a minimum term of 21 years and 232 days

Preston Crown Court heard Sarj and Jai regularly sexually abused two children at a Leeds mosque over many years, beginning when the victims were seven.

The three also preyed on vulnerable and underage girls at a flat above their family’s takeaway in Barrow, Cumbria, between 2008 and 2010.

They gave them cigarettes, alcohol, food and even hair extensions in what barrister Tim Evans KC called a “classic grooming technique”.

He said the brothers worked as a team and “created an environment in Barrow in which each of them could abuse young girls”.

Judge Unsworth KC said they had shattered the lives of their victims and hid in plain sight in the town.

Multiple schoolgirls in their uniforms were regularly seen at the takeaway, the judge said, with Jai acting ruthlessly to stop them going to the police.

Death threat

In 2009, one girl was grabbed off the street by her hair and shoved in a van after speaking to officers.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said Jai was in the passenger seat and the man who grabbed her warned “she would be dead” if she’d said anything.

Jai told the girl he would do anything to protect his family and she didn’t know what he was capable of, the CPS added.

He also threatened a woman who was due to be interviewed by police in 2010, causing her to back out.

The court also heard Sarj would take one of the girls to a hotel for sex about twice a month and became increasingly controlling – to the point she remains on medication and is terrified of seeing him in the street.

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A witness told Sky News the men abused their victims in a dingy room above the takeaway that “looked like a crack house” and had mattresses on the floor and sheets covering the windows.

“They knew exactly how young they were,” she said. “They didn’t only have one girlfriend each… they had multiple.”

Shaha Amran Miah was found guilty of 16 sexual offences against three girls, including rape, as well as two charges of intimidation and one of kidnap.

Shaha Alman Miah was found guilty of three counts of sexual activity with a child.

Shah Joman Miah was convicted of sexually abusing three children. There were nine counts of rape of a child among his 40 offences.