FIVE JAILED OVER GROOMING GANG THAT ABUSED GIRLS IN RHYL

Four men and a woman have been jailed for grooming and abusing three teenage girls in the seaside town of Rhyl, Denbighshire. The ringleader, Mustafa Iqbal, was jailed for 35 years after being convicted of 21 offences, including four rapes and three sexual assaults, against all three victims. North Wales Police said the other four defendants were also jailed for their roles, though their individual terms were not given. One report put the combined sentences handed to the group at 82 years. The girls were 14, 15 and 16 at the time of the abuse. Jurors reached their verdicts after a three-month trial at Caernarfon Crown Court.

The court heard the men met at a coffee house while the girls were approached on the street, given cannabis and asked to play "spin the bottle" before being abused. Detective Chief Inspector Richard Sidney, who led the investigation, called it one of North Wales Police's most complex inquiries into child sexual exploitation, saying the victims had to show "real strength" to give their accounts. Officers analysed hundreds of hours of CCTV footage, phone records and travel patterns, building the case in secret before coordinated raids across Rhyl in August 2025. One report said the offenders blamed parents, claiming they "can't look after their kids".

Detective Sergeant Keira Williams, another member of the investigation team, said officers worked at the victims' own pace throughout what she described as "an incredibly horrendous crime". North Wales Police said the inquiry drew on support from the children's charity Barnardo's and the Hydrant Programme, a national police initiative addressing child sexual abuse. Sidney said the team's priority was securing justice for the victims and safeguarding the community.