One of the survivors from the well-known Telford grooming gang has come forward with apprehension as one of the individuals who assaulted her is on the brink of being freed from prison following a mere seven-year sentence for his offenses.
Kate Elysia, whose real name has been changed for her safety, is terrified that Mohammed Ali Sultan, 38, will return to her home when he walks free.Â
Sultan was one of the leaders of a gang that sexually exploited and abused up to 1,000 young girls in Telford, Shropshire, over several decades.
In 2012, Sultan confessed to sexually violating two teenage girls, leading to his imprisonment for seven years. Despite being given two extensions to his term due to additional sexual crimes, he is now on the verge of regaining freedom.
Expressing her concerns to the Mirror, she conveyed, ‘We are uncertain if he will show up at our doorstep. His intentions remain unknown. The only frame of mind I witnessed in him was the one he harbored while assaulting me.’
And in another interview with BBC Radio 5 live, she revealed: ‘The decision to release him was made on December 13, but I wasn’t informed until January 6.’
‘I definitely was supposed to have six months to come to terms with the fact this was going ahead. I found it quite shocking. It seems like a very short amount of time that he’s been in prison for, considering that I’m not his only victim.’
Ms Elysia, now 36, has also told how she was driven to different properties to take part in sex parties with men who had recently arrived from Pakistan
Sultan was one of the leaders of a gang that sexually exploited and abused up to 1,000 young girls in Telford, Shropshire, over several decades
Seven men were jailed in 2012 as part of Operation Chalice, which uncovered a large-scale child sexual exploitation network in Telford.Â
The charges against the gang included rape, trafficking, and prostitution, with victims often as young as 13.
She was 18 years old when she moved out of her home in Shropshire in May 2007 and into a large house in Telford that had been converted into a dozen flats.
One month later on June 17, 2007, she was confronted by a man at her front door who forced his way in before going on to rape her.
The second year college student went to her local police station with the intention of filing a report, however she told the Times that ‘the police told me that if I reported it as rape they would have to arrest the man.
She added: ‘If I said it was consensual they would not have to arrest him. I said it was consensual they would not have to arrest him. So I had to say it was consensual because if they arrested him I was at risk.’
Later that evening, two other men forced their way into her flat and raped her.
A Parole Board hearing in November heard Sultan had ‘undertaken accredited programmes to address decision making and better ways of thinking, and to address sex offending’.
She was 18 years old when she moved out of her home in Shropshire in May 2007 and into a large house in Telford that had been converted into a dozen flatsÂ
Seven men were jailed in 2012 as part of Operation Chalice, which uncovered a large-scale child sexual exploitation network in Telford. (Top L-R) Nazam Akhtar & Mohammad Rizwan. (Bottom L-R) Mohammed Ali Sultan, Amjad Hussain & Shafiq Younas
It considered risk factors at the time of his offence, including ‘wanting sexual gratification, having contact with female children, having antisocial friends, problem drinking, offending to get money, his attitudes towards his… offending, and unhelpful ways of thinking’.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said Sultan would be subject to ‘intense probation supervision’.
Speaking on BBC Newsnight she said: ‘Mohammed Ali Sultan, he raped me two days after I’d been raped by his cousin.
‘He brought his friend round and I was also raped by his friend. This was a calculated move because I had rejected a proposition from Ali Sultan earlier on.’
She reported the rapes to the police again in 2010 and due her testimony two men — Shahmeel Khan and Mohammed Ali Sultan were convicted.
Sultan was given a six-year term with five years on licence and received three concurrent ten-year sentences
She went on the reveal she had ‘no idea’ that her rapist Sultan had been up for parole
‘At first I was a bit taken aback and didn’t really know what to do,’ she said
‘I was tempted to not tell anyone and keep it a secret. I just want to not think about it.
‘Then I realised I need to inform my family, for example, just in case something happens after his release. So I was scared for me and I was scared for my family.’
Ms Elysia, now 36, has also told how she was driven to different properties to take part in sex parties with men who had recently arrived from Pakistan.
She spent four months inside the grooming gang before she won a place to study in Essex.
‘I applied to university through clearing. I had wanted to do psychology but I was offered a place to do mental health nursing and I took it just for the sake of getting out of there. I literally ran away,’ she said.
She admitted that she still thinks about it ‘most nights’.
‘I have a little cry. I get upset remembering the things I used to think about myself. I feel really sad for the girl that I used to be, who was vulnerable and who went through that,’ she said.
