Rapist jailed for trafficking and abusing girls

A shop worker who groomed and trafficked seven girls aged between 12 and 16 for sexual abuse has been jailed.

Bawan Harwe, 28, messaged his victims on social media under a fake name, offering them money and e-cigarettes to win their trust, before raping and abusing them.

Harwe's accomplice, Sharam Muhamadi, who helped facilitate the abuse, failed to attend the hearing at Sheffield Crown Court and will be sentenced at a later date.

Sentencing Harwe, of no fixed abode, to 29 years imprisonment, Judge Sarah Wright told him: "The harm you have caused is of unimaginable proportions."

Following a four-week trial, Harwe, an Iraqi national, was found guilty of eight counts of rape, two counts of meeting a child following sexual grooming, two counts of false imprisonment, and six counts of arranging and facilitating travel of another person with a view of exploitation.

He had previously pleaded guilty to one count of rape of a child under 13, three counts of making indecent images of children and one count of possessing extreme pornography.

During his trial, Harwe told the court he had been working in a convenience store in Hexthorpe and lived nearby in an attic room with two others.

He said he met Muhamadi in 2022 when the latter worked at another shop in the area and they became friends and lived in the same house.

The court heard how in 2024, Harwe targeted the victims because of their age, plied them with drink and drugs and raped or abused them. The youngest victim was 12 years old.

Judge Wright told the defendant: "The impact of your offending upon the victims, their families and indeed the wider community has been devastating.

The court heard how Harwe raped two 14-year-old girls at his home after giving them alcohol and drugs.

One of the girls was so intoxicated, she could neither see nor stand.

In October 2024, another victim, also 14, recalled seeing Harwe rape another girl, who had passed out from drinking.

She said she forced Harwe off her and said that he would not let them leave the property until he had sex with her too.

"She did everything she possibly could to try and help her friend and was so concerned for her welfare that eventually she gave in to your demands," said Judge Wright.

"You raped her although she repeatedly told you to stop. She was crying and you hit her."

Harwe was jailed for 29 years and told he would serve a further three years on licence once released.

There were gasps from people sitting in the public gallery when the sentence was delivered.

Muhamadi, who is from Iran, was found guilty of two counts of arran