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."

Warning, this article contains distressing details

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.

"Their childhood and adolescence can never be reclaimed."

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 arranging or facilitating travel of another person with a view of exploitation.

He was cleared of two other counts of arranging or facilitating travel of another person with a view of exploitation and one count of rape.

Under the judge's directions, the jury was also asked to return a not guilty verdict on one count of sexual assault.

Muhamadi stopped attending the trial partway through and was convicted in his absence, with a warrant out for his arrest.

He had been remanded in custody between charge and the beginning of the trial, South Yorkshire Police said, but his defence team's application for bail was then granted by the court.

Under his bail conditions, a surety of £19,000 was provided by Amin Haydar.

On Thursday, Judge Wright ordered Haydar to forfeit the sum within 28 days after the defendant failed to attend court.

Judge Wright said she would allow for more time to apprehend Muhamadi, with a view to sentencing him at a later date.

A police spokesperson said: "A manhunt is currently under way to locate 21-year-old Sharam Muhamadi and we will not stop until we find him.

"Our officers have been working relentlessly, exploring every single line of inquiry with determination to secure justice for the victims."

The trial heard that, after arriving in the UK as an unaccompanied asylum seeker, Muhamadi was taken into the care of social services in Bradford.

He then made a claim for asylum in 2021 at the age of 16 and was granted leave to remain in the UK in 2022, to be reviewed in 2027.

In 2023, he moved to Doncaster and began working "long shifts" in a shop.

A Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) spokesperson said: "The CPS robustly opposed bail applications made by the defence throughout the court process.

"Ultimately decisions as to whether to grant bail are made by the court."