A victim in the Rotherham grooming trial has claimed that she was allegedly raped by a town councillor.
The victim gave the surname of the man as 'Akhtar' during an interview conducted by police for the purpose of the case but she later did not want to make any further statement to police about the alleged rape until the trial was over. It is not clear whether the councillor accused of rape was Jahangir Akhtar, a former deputy leader of Rotherham council and a distant relative of the three brothers who ran the grooming ring.
Akhtar strenuously denied rape. Speaking to the Guardian on Friday, he said he had “never in my whole life” raped anyone.
The complainant in Rotherham had alleged that a deal was made when she went missing from home with Arshid Hussain when she was a teenager, and there was a handover at a petrol station. The woman said Akhtar rang Hussain and told her he had to take her home, and then they drove to a petrol station to meet police. But the prosecution confirmed on Friday that there was no reason to believe there were active police investigations into Jahangir Akhtar.
Akhtar added the crimes committed by the Hussains were “absolutely horrific”.
However he was forced to step aside from his role as deputy leader of the council following allegations that was involved in a deal to help a relative accused of grooming an underage girl. He later lost his seat.
