Monster Next Door: Convicted Paedophile’s Party House Horror Leaves Rochdale Families Living in Fear
Picture this: You’re a mother of two young girls. Every day, you watch them like a hawk in your own back garden. Not because they might wander off, but because a convicted child rapist lives just two doors down – and he’s throwing parties.
Welcome to the nightmare reality for families on a quiet Rochdale street, where grooming gang ringleader Qari Abdul Rauf continues to live freely despite being ordered to leave Britain more than a decade ago.
The 55-year-old monster, who was part of a vile gang that plied girls as young as 12 with alcohol and drugs before subjecting them to horrific sexual abuse, has turned his terraced house into what neighbours describe as a party venue – complete with “loads of people” coming and going at all hours.
‘We’re Like Prison Guards for Our Own Kids’
Angie Harrison, a 45-year-old mother of two daughters aged seven and eight, doesn’t mince her words about living back-to-back with the convicted paedophile’s home.
He has loads of people there, having parties and we don’t like the look of the people who come,” she revealed in an exclusive interview. “I don’t like letting the kids in the garden. I have told them all about him. It is disgusting.”
Her voice breaks with frustration as she adds: “It is horrible. It is awful when you have to sit out watching your kids. We’re the ones watching over our own kids like prison guards.”
The irony isn’t lost on locals – it’s the innocent families who feel imprisoned, while the convicted criminal roams free.
A Sickening Betrayal of Justice
Rauf’s continued presence in Rochdale represents one of Britain’s most shameful failures in dealing with grooming gangs. Despite being jailed in 2012 for trafficking and raping a 15-year-old girl, he served just two years and six months of his pathetic six-year sentence.
According to multiple reports, up to 47 vulnerable girls were systematically abused by the nine-strong gang during their two-year reign of terror across the north of England. The victims, some barely into their teens, were trafficked between towns and subjected to gang rape.
When then-Home Secretary Theresa May ordered his deportation in 2014, declaring it “conducive to the public good,” it seemed justice might finally be served. How wrong we were.
The Loophole That Let a Monster Stay
In a move that beggars belief, Rauf and fellow gang leader Adil Khan exploited a legal loophole by destroying their Pakistani passports and renouncing their citizenship. By claiming they would be left “stateless,” they’ve managed to frustrate deportation efforts for over a decade.
Pakistan has refused to accept them without valid travel documents, leaving British authorities seemingly powerless. Sources close to the negotiations revealed to various outlets that Pakistan considers it “extremely difficult” to take back such dangerous criminals.
But here’s what really sticks in the craw: while diplomats wrangle over paperwork, Rauf lives in a comfortable three-bedroom semi-detached house worth around £140,000 – protected by what neighbours claim is a panic button linked directly to Greater Manchester Police.
Walking Around ‘Like He Owns the Place’
The sheer brazenness of it all leaves locals seething. One resident, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals, painted a chilling picture: “I see him walking around like he owns the place. There are kids all around here and nobody wants that paedophile around here.”
Even more disturbing are reports from earlier this year that Rauf had been working as a takeaway delivery driver, raising the horrifying prospect of him turning up at his victims’ doors with their food orders.
Another long-time resident, 64-year-old Lena Carter, who has lived on the street for nearly three decades, revealed her own daughters used to play in Rauf’s back garden before his crimes came to light.
I understand he has been banned from the mosque,” she said. “He walks around in Western clothing now unless his friends are around. What can we do to get him out if the law says he can stay?”
Police Protection for a Paedophile
Perhaps the most galling aspect of this whole sordid saga is the protection afforded to Rauf. According to disgusted neighbours, police have told them to leave him alone because he has “done his time.
Some claim they’ve been removed by officers for straying too close to his house. One defiant local admitted to shouting “paedo” at Rauf when their windows are open, but says the convicted criminal simply shrugs it off.
Meanwhile, a childminder who lives just two doors away has reportedly said she would pay for travel documents herself if it meant getting rid of him.
The Victims’ Ongoing Nightmare
While Rauf hosts his gatherings, his victims continue to rebuild their shattered lives. Many still live in Rochdale, forced to share the same streets, the same shops, the same space as their abuser.
It’s a cruel twist that compounds their trauma – knowing that despite everything they endured, despite testifying in court, despite seeing justice supposedly served, their tormentor walks free among them.
The scandal has been thrust back into the spotlight following Baroness Louise Casey’s scathing review, which found councils, police and the Home Office repeatedly “shied away” from dealing with uncomfortable questions on the ethnicity of rapists who targeted young girls.
Where’s the Outrage?
As negotiations continue between British and Pakistani officials – with Pakistan sources suggesting restoring direct flights to the UK by its national airline PIA as part of a potential deal – families on Rauf’s street remain in limbo.
They’re told to be patient. They’re told it’s complicated. They’re told nothing can be done.
But tell that to Angie Harrison’s daughters, who can’t play freely in their own garden. Tell that to the victims who might bump into their rapist at the corner shop. Tell that to a community that feels utterly betrayed by a system that seems to prioritise the rights of convicted paedophiles over the safety of children.
One resident summed up the mood perfectly: “There are kids all around here and nobody wants that paedophile around here.”
The question is: when will someone in authority finally listen?
The Bottom Line
More than a decade after his conviction, Qari Abdul Rauf remains in Rochdale – throwing parties, walking the streets, and living comfortably while his victims and their community suffer.
If destroying a passport is all it takes to avoid deportation after raping children, then our justice system isn’t just broken – it’s an accomplice to ongoing abuse.
The families living in fear deserve better. The victims deserve better. Britain deserves better.
It’s time for action, not excuses. Because every day this monster remains on British soil is another day of injustice for those whose lives he destroyed.
