A British Pakistani man who “married” a 15-year-old girl in an Islamic ceremony has been jailed for 23 years alongside seven other men for horrific sexual offences against the vulnerable care home child. The victim’s social worker attended the illegal wedding ceremony, despite mounting concerns from care staff that the teenager was being systematically abused.
Raja Zulqurnean, 43, of Bradford, was found guilty at Bradford Crown Court of 10 rapes and nine indecent assaults against the girl, who had been groomed and sexually exploited since she was just 13 years old. The court heard harrowing details of how Zulqurnean forced the child to conform to a halal diet and wear Islamic clothing, whilst preventing her from seeing her family because they were “non-believers”.
The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was subjected to years of horrific abuse whilst living in a Bradford children’s home in the early 2000s. Jurors were told that Zulqurnean often locked the terrified teenager in the basement of a Bradford property, where he sexually abused her and deprived her of food, education and medical care.
Social Worker Attended Illegal ‘Wedding’ Ceremony
In one of the most shocking revelations of the case, Bradford Crown Court heard that the victim’s key social worker attended the Islamic wedding ceremony when the child was just 15 years old. The BBC understands the victim’s former key social worker, Anwar Meah, was questioned by police on suspicion of malfeasance in public office, but no further action was taken and he provided no comment to the BBC.
The victim told the BBC: “This was far more than a grooming case. This was an institutional scandal and no one cared for my wellbeing. I was married to an abuser. How could a child marry? Social services enabled it.”
Care documents seen by the BBC revealed that the Bradford children’s home recorded the child “was going out with Asian men late at night and not reporting to staff about where she had been”. A social worker told the court that up to 10 cars each night were seen coming to the children’s home, with number plates being handed over to police every week.
Eight Men Convicted of Sexual Abuse
At Bradford Crown Court, eight men in total were convicted for their roles in the victim’s sexual abuse. Zulqurnean’s prison sentence was initially set at 18 years but was increased to 23 years by Court of Appeal judges. The BBC is able to report the convictions of the eight British Pakistani men for the first time after reporting restrictions were amended.
The other convicted men include:
Basharat Khaliq, 45, of Bradford, was found guilty of three rapes and four counts of indecent assault and awaits sentencing. The victim contacted the BBC in 2019 about her experiences after seeing Khaliq in a BBC Look North news report about child sexual exploitation whilst he was already in prison for sexual offences.
Mohammed Naheem, 39, of Bradford, was found guilty of three counts of indecent assault and awaits sentencing, alongside Safraz Ahmed Latif, 40, of Bradford, who was found guilty of four indecent assaults. Wajid Hussain, 42, of Bradford, was found guilty of indecent assault, whilst Nadeem Ali, 39, of Bradford, was found guilty of two counts of indecent assault.
Mohammed Imran Akram, 43, of Bradford, was found guilty of two counts of indecent assault and Mohammed Shezhad Hussain, 39, of Keighley, was found guilty of one rape and two counts of indecent assault. All seven men await sentencing.
Victim Reported Missing Over 100 Times
The scale of institutional failure became apparent when police records showed the victim went missing 101 times between 2002 and 2004. Despite these alarming figures and care staff’s growing concerns, authorities failed to protect the vulnerable teenager from systematic abuse.
The woman, who has a lifelong right to anonymity, described the devastating impact of giving evidence against her abusers. She stated: “I was on a care order but I wasn’t protected at all, and the systems that were meant to protect me enabled my abuse.”
Detective Chief Inspector Vicky Greenbank said: “Cases such as these are incredibly sensitive and complex and it has taken years of painstaking investigation to bring these men before the courts.
Wider Scandal and Calls for National Inquiry
The case has reignited demands for a full inquiry into grooming gangs in Bradford, with local MP Robbie Moore arguing the scandal in the district could “dwarf” that uncovered in Rotherham. Bradford Council has faced criticism for refusing to launch a comprehensive local inquiry, despite mounting evidence of widespread abuse.
In July 2025, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced there would be a full national statutory inquiry into grooming gangs in England and Wales, accepting the recommendations of an audit by Baroness Louise Casey. The inquiry is expected to include new local investigations with powers to compel evidence and witness testimony.
West Yorkshire Police said that since the early 2010s, the force had “significantly invested in and improved” its safeguarding capability. A spokesperson stated: “The work undertaken over the past decade has resulted in hundreds of perpetrators now serving lengthy prison sentences.”
Between 2015 and 2024, 201 defendants have been sentenced to a total of 2,223 years and 10 months for child exploitation across Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees and Leeds, relating to 20 investigations. Many investigations remain ongoing, with trials scheduled throughout 2025 and 2026.
Council Admits “Serious Failings”
Susan Hinchcliffe, leader of Bradford Council, acknowledged there had been “serious failings in the way the council and other agencies in our district acted at that time and we’ve apologised for that”. She added: “They did not protect the victim as they should have.”
The council leader said the victim’s experiences were examined during an earlier review into child sexual abuse in the district, with findings fed into the nationwide Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. She claimed recommendations had been acted upon locally to “better protect children in the here and now”.
However, campaigners and survivors continue to call for a comprehensive investigation specifically focused on Bradford. Leading child abuse lawyer David Greenwood believes Bradford will be “bigger than Rotherham” when the full extent of abuse is uncovered, noting that many victims he has represented were trafficked in and out of Bradford.
Pattern of Systemic Failure
The case highlights a disturbing pattern of institutional failure that allowed grooming gangs to operate with impunity for years. Assistant Chief Constable Patrick Twiggs of West Yorkshire Police acknowledged: “Since the publication of the Jay report in 2014, West Yorkshire Police has taken a proactive stance in exploring previous incidents and disclosures relating to non-recent child sexual exploitation and abuse.”
The Bradford District Safeguarding Children Partnership has maintained that a public inquiry would “cost a huge amount of money” and is “unlikely to provide us with any new learning that would better protect children from being abused”. This stance has been met with frustration from survivors and their advocates.
Grooming gang victim Sammy Woodhouse warned: “I guarantee Bradford will be the biggest gang rape cover up in the UK. I’ve said it for years, Bradford needs a full investigation.”
Ongoing Fight for Justice
The conviction of these eight men represents just one case in what survivors and experts believe is a much wider scandal. According to the 2021 census, 30.5% of Bradford’s population described themselves as Muslim, making it one of the towns with the highest proportion of Muslims in the UK.
Detective Chief Inspector Greenbank emphasised that combating child abuse requires collaboration: “Tackling child abuse is not something that any one agency can do in isolation; we work closely with our partners and charities to support victims, bring perpetrators to justice and to make our communities safer.”
As the national inquiry progresses, survivors continue to demand that Bradford be a central focus of investigations. Baroness Casey herself stated: “I would be surprised if some of the areas that I mentioned, probably including Bradford, would not be part of a national inquiry.”
The case serves as a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities faced by children in care and the catastrophic consequences when those entrusted with their protection fail in their duties. With 37 suspects still awaiting trial from Operation Dalesway investigations and 14 ongoing historic child sex abuse investigations in the Bradford district, the full scale of the scandal continues to emerge.
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