Who is Shabir Ahmed? Rochdale grooming ringleader known as ‘Daddy’ by his victims

THE SICK leader of the Rochdale child sex abuse ring is serving a 22-year prison sentence for his role in the gang.

Shabir Ahmed, who abused dozens of vulnerable teenagers, was known as “Daddy” to his victims – here is all you need to know

Who is Shabir Ahmed?

Ahmed, 64, is a former taxi driver from Pakistan and currently an inmate at Leeds prison.

The divorced dad-of-four was described as the ringleader of a gang of eight other paedophiles in the now notorious Rochdale grooming case.

The ring were convicted of offences including rape and trafficking of vulnerable girls who were preyed on at two takeaways in the town.

Ahmed was convicted of two counts of rape, one sex assault, trafficking and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child.

The gang were jailed for a total of 77 years.

What happened during Ahmed’s trial?

During the trial Ahmed scoffed that the victims, who knew him as “Daddy”, were telling “white lies”.

He exposed his naked torso in the dock and threw a clump of chest hair on the floor, saying of one victims: “She would have seen this.”

But his name was kept secret because he was facing the second trial soon after.

Finally in June 2012 a jury at Manchester Crown Court found Ahmed guilty of 30 counts of rape against another Asian girl and he was jailed for 22 years – to run alongside his 19-year sentence, so effectively adding three years to his prison term.

Then aged 59, he was ordered to the cells halfway through his sentencing after telling the judge he was “talking s***”.

The judge said Ahmed was an outcast in the local Muslim community.

He is now appealing against a decision to strip him of UK citizenship.