Huddersfield grooming gang: Guilty men showed no remorse for harrowing sexual abuse and rape

Judge Geoffrey Marson, QC, described how many - if not all - of the victims will never recover from the suffering they had been subjected to.

After watching the victims give evidence he said it is clear that all remain profoundly affected by the abuse.

As he sentenced 16 of the defendants, he said: "I have read the victim personal statements; they make harrowing reading.

"The way these girls were treated defies understanding; this abuse was vile and wicked.

"As cases of sexual abuse with which the courts have to deal, this case comes at the top of the scale.

"None of you has expressed any remorse for what you did."

The defendants were told that sentences handed to them were designed to be severe in order to deter similar offending in the future.

He said: "You should all understand that you will be sentenced for what you did as individuals, but set against what must have been your state of knowledge as to the background and grooming of these girls and their abuse by a large number of Asian men.

"The sentences I pass on you are severe and are intended to be so.

"People must understand that those who behave in the way you behaved must expect no sympathy from the courts.

"The courts have to do what they can to protect young girls from abuse."

Huddersfield grooming gang leader Amere Singh Dhaliwal

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