Rochdale grooming monster Mohammed Zahid, “Boss Man,” and six accomplices jailed for decades after years of systemic child abuse.
The veil has finally been ripped away from yet another chapter of Britain’s grooming gang nightmare. Mohammed Zahid, a 65-year-old lingerie stall trader at Rochdale Indoor Market—infamously known as “Boss Man”—has been sentenced to 35 years in prison for leading a gang that raped and degraded two young schoolgirls.
Zahid, a father of three originally from Pakistan, exploited his position of trust and lured vulnerable 13-year-olds with free lingerie, money, alcohol, and cigarettes. What followed was years of systematic sexual abuse—rapes carried out in filthy flats, cars, back alleys, and abandoned warehouses. His victims, referred to as Girl A and Girl B, were used as disposable objects, repeatedly assaulted and passed around by a network of men between 2001 and 2006.
Six other Pakistani-origin men were also handed lengthy sentences. Market traders Mushtaq Ahmed, 67, and Kasir Bashir, 50, received 27 and 29 years respectively. Bashir fled the country while on bail but was convicted in absentia. Taxi drivers Mohammed Shahzad, 44, Naheem Akram, 49, and Nisar Hussain, 41, were sentenced to terms ranging from 19 to 26 years for their crimes. Another accomplice, Roheez Khan, 39, received 12 years.
This is not Zahid’s first offense—he previously served five years in 2016 for abusing a 14-year-old girl. Despite clear warning signs and red flags, authorities “woefully failed” to intervene, allowing the horror to continue unchecked for years.
Judge Jonathan Seely condemned the “incessant abuse” as “appalling,” declaring that the girls were “abused, humiliated, degraded and then discarded.” Prosecutors revealed that one victim was targeted by more than 200 men after her phone number was circulated across the town.
Victim impact statements revealed shattered lives: Girl A said her childhood “was taken away,” while Girl B described her ordeal as “horrific,” saying it not only scarred her but also victimized her children.
The case marks the first major grooming gang prosecution since allegations surfaced that the Labour government suppressed inquiries into systemic failings by police and social services.
Conservatives’ Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp called for a full statutory national inquiry, stating: “It should not have taken 20 years to get these convictions. The cover-ups must be exposed, and accountability delivered.”
The Rochdale case stands as a damning indictment—not only of the predators who targeted vulnerable girls, but also of the institutions that turned a blind eye, allowing Britain’s children to be hunted, exploited, and destroyed.
