A 46-year-old man has been found guilty at Sheffield Crown Court of grooming and raping two young girls in Rotherham in the early 2000s, as part of the National Crime Agency’s Operation Stovewood investigation into historical child sexual abuse.
Obaidullah Omari, of Washington Road, Sheffield, was convicted of targeting the two victims, who were aged between 13 and 14 at the time of their abuse. The offences occurred between 2003 and 2004, with both victims coming forward to Operation Stovewood investigators over 20 years after the abuse took place.
The jury found Omari guilty of raping the first girl multiple times at two different locations – in his car and at his house in Eastwood. They also found him guilty of raping the second girl on one occasion. Throughout the abuse, Omari gave the young girls alcohol and drugs before sexually assaulting them.
Twenty-Year Wait for Justice
Both victims, now in their 30s, bravely provided their accounts to specially-trained Operation Stovewood officers, leading to Omari’s arrest in 2019. Their courage in coming forward after two decades has been crucial in securing this conviction.
During the trial, prosecutor Matthew Bean told the court how Omari, who was known as ‘Naj’ at the time of the offences, had deliberately targeted vulnerable young girls. “These were, in each case, far from normal sexual encounters where consent is clear and obvious, where the parties are on equal terms, where consent is freely given without inducement, or pressure, or fear,” Mr Bean said.
“For these defendants, the girls were objects to be used. There was no true consent.”
Vulnerable Victims Targeted
The court heard harrowing details of how Omari exploited the vulnerability of his victims. One of the girls had an “extremely unsettled” childhood and had gone “off the rails” at a young age, getting in trouble with police. The prosecution described how she was introduced to “Asian boyfriends” by an older girl, with several of these men going on to sexually abuse her.
Omari was in his mid-20s when he targeted the first victim, who was just 13 years old. The court heard how he would offer to drive her around in his car, buying her cigarettes, alcohol, and cannabis as part of the grooming process. He would then force her to have sex with him on a mattress on the floor of his home and in his car, sometimes up to four times a day.
The prosecution stated that Omari made it clear to other men that “she belonged to him,” demonstrating the possessive and controlling nature of his abuse. The sexual exploitation only ended when the victim was moved out of Rotherham aged 14.
Second Victim’s Ordeal
The second victim was even younger when Omari raped her. The prosecution stated that she was “being subjected to regular acts of sexual abuse by a number of men” when Omari met and sexually abused her. The court heard that she regularly drank alcohol and took drugs, including heroin, as part of the sexual grooming process by older men.
Mr Bean emphasised that Omari must have been “well aware” that she was an extremely vulnerable young girl. The prosecutor stated that both victims were “attractive to those who wanted to exploit young, vulnerable girls” and were thought of as “the sort of girls who might not complain.”
Operation Stovewood’s Ongoing Fight for Justice
Operation Stovewood, established in December 2014 following the Jay Report’s revelations about the scale of child sexual exploitation in Rotherham, remains the single largest law enforcement investigation into non-familial child sexual abuse in the UK. The investigation covers allegations of abuse in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.
To date, Operation Stovewood has:
- Identified around 1,150 potential victims
- Arrested or interviewed more than 220 people
- Secured 47 convictions (including Omari)
- Seen those convicted sentenced to a combined total of approximately 500 years in prison
The Jay Report, published in August 2014 by Professor Alexis Jay, estimated that at least 1,400 children had been sexually exploited in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013. The report found that the majority of known perpetrators were of Pakistani heritage, while most victims were white British girls from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Pattern of Exploitation
Omari’s conviction follows a pattern seen in numerous Operation Stovewood cases, where vulnerable young girls, often from care homes or troubled backgrounds, were systematically targeted by groups of older men. The perpetrators would typically befriend the girls, shower them with gifts, alcohol, and drugs, before subjecting them to horrific sexual abuse.
In 2025, Baroness Casey’s report into child sexual exploitation found that in Operation Stovewood cases, nearly two-thirds of the 323 suspects and 42 individuals convicted were of Pakistani ethnic background. The report criticised authorities for “shying away” from examining the ethnicity of offenders and noted “obfuscation” when addressing this aspect of the abuse.
Continuing Impact
The National Crime Agency continues to investigate historical allegations of abuse in Rotherham, with criminal cases expected to continue until at least 2027. Senior investigating officers have consistently praised the courage of victims who come forward, acknowledging the lifelong trauma caused by such abuse.
Martin McRobb, Specialist Prosecutor for the CPS’ Organised Child Sexual Abuse Unit, has previously stated: “Child sexual abuse is a traumatising and life-changing crime. We know it can be difficult to talk about such abuse, and I would like to extend my thanks to the victims for the courage and fortitude they showed in coming forward and giving evidence.”
Support for Survivors
The conviction serves as a reminder that it is never too late to seek justice for child sexual abuse. Authorities continue to encourage any victims of historical abuse to come forward, regardless of how long ago the offences occurred.
Support services remain available for survivors of child sexual exploitation, with specialist officers trained to handle such sensitive cases. The National Crime Agency has emphasised that reporting child sexual abuse may feel daunting, but justice is possible.
Omari’s sentencing date is yet to be announced. His conviction adds to the growing number of successful prosecutions under Operation Stovewood, demonstrating the authorities’ ongoing commitment to holding perpetrators accountable for their crimes, no matter how much time has passed.
The investigation continues to pursue justice for the numerous other victims identified, with the message that those who exploited vulnerable children in Rotherham will face the consequences of their actions.
Follow for more updates on Britannia Daily
