Shropshire Star

Telford sex gang ringleader Mubarek Ali set to be freed early

Telford sex gang ringleader Mubarek Ali was today identified as the offender preparing to be released just five years into a 22-year jail sentence.

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Sex gang leader Mubarek Ali is set to be released early from prison

Ali was one of two leaders of a sexual grooming gang that preyed on girls as young as 13 in Telford.

Captured as part of Operation Chalice and jailed back in 2013, he has been told he will be released on licence as early as November.

Telford MP Lucy Allan has attacked the decision to free Ali

Today Telford MP Lucy Allan attacked the decision to free him, which could allow him back into a community where his victims continue to live.

Ms Allan spoke of the issue in the Commons last week, saying the victims of child sexual exploitation deserve better and that it is “wrong” that one of the leaders behind the horrific offences could be free to return to Telford.

Today Ali was identified as the sex offender who will be released.

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In an open letter to the Shropshire Star, the MP said victims are “living in fear” and should have been better consulted ahead of Ali’s release.

Ms Allan said the authorities did not inform victims of the forthcoming release or involve them in the terms of the release. She said: “Victims and members of the public would have expected a 22 year sentence to mean that the community could have time to heal and victims would be able to get on with their lives.

“What we see in this case is that the one of the main perpetrators is being released into the community only five years after the trial.

“This is clearly of enormous concern to victims in this case, especially those who gave evidence in court.

“What is unacceptable that in this case there was no attempt by the authorities to reach out these young women and prepare them for this wholly unexpected event.

“Worse still is the prospect that this person may be returned to Telford and naturally this has caused huge anxiety to victims.”

Ali was convicted after youth workers first raised the alarm when teenage girls in Wellington, some as young as 13, started telling them the same stories about men they were seeing.

The subsequent police investigation, dubbed Operation Chalice, revealed details of a network of men from who targeted young and vulnerable teenage girls.

After West Mercia Police’s investigation into suspected under-age sex and child prostitution, seven men were finally convicted at Worcester Crown Court in 2013, after cases stretching over two years.

Four experienced judges heard distressing evidence from four young women, who were aged 13 to 16 when they were abused during a two-year period between 2007 and 2009. The leading players in the abuse were brothers, Ahdel and Mubarek Ali, then of Regent Street, Wellington, who received long jail sentences after an eight-week trial.

Ahdel Ali, 27, known as Eddie, was given a 26-year extended sentence – 18 years’ immediate custody with an additional eight-year period on licence after release.

Mubarek Ali, 34, known as Max, was given 22 years, 14 years’ immediate custody and eight years on licence, for seven offences – four of controlling child prostitution, causing child prostitution and two offences of trafficking in the UK for the purpose of prostitution, involving two of the victims. Both men were made the subject of lifelong Sexual Offences Prevention Orders.

Also convicted were Mohammed Ali Sultan, 29, of Victoria Avenue, Wellington; Tanveer Ahmed, 43, of Urban Gardens, Wellington; Mohammed Islam Choudhrey, 56, of Solway Drive, Sutton Hill; Mahroof Khan, 38, of Caradoc Flats, Kingshaye Road, Wellington, and Mohammed Younis, 63, of Kingsland, Arleston.

People in Telford who know the case, or who know those affected by the crimes, have taken to social media to voice disgust after it was revealed that Ali is set to be released.

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