Cardinal George Pell was overheard in the 1980s discussing the sexual abuse of boys at the hands of convicted paedophile Gerald Risdale, a royal commission has been told.

The explosive allegations about what Australia's most senior Catholic knew of abuse by priests in the Ballarat Diocese before he became the Archbishop of Melbourne was aired at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

A man, referred to as BWE during the hearing, told the inquiry he overhead a conversation between Father Frank Madden and then-auxilary priest George Pell at St Patricks Cathedral in 1983.

He said Father Madden asked "How are things going down your way?".

He said Cardinal Pell replied "I think Gerry has been rooting young boys again".

"This remark shocked me to the core. It rattled me. Because of everything I'd been told by my brothers about Gerard Ridsdale" BWE told the inquiry.

He said the next year he told his mother.

"I told her that I more or less overheard George Pell confirm that Gerard Ridsdale was still having sex with young boys," he said.

"She said to me 'don't be ridiculous'."
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-07/cardinal-george-pells-lawyer-questions-abuse-victims-testimony/7006512

Pell is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. Hearsay doesn't prove guilt.

Pell is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. Hearsay doesn't prove guilt.

The weight of evidence is stacking up against this guy. Apart from being completely unlikable, he seems to lack compassion for others.

I hope that the truth comes out and when it does, he spends the rest of his miserable life in jail.

He is a potential future pope.

Surely whether he eventually proven guilty or not this scandal has been enough to end his chances of leading his chances of becoming the pontiff.

The church has enough issues with relevance as well as existing internal scandals to want to bring more in with the hiring of Pell.

BTW, the lawyer Pell has personally hired to cross examine victims (which he previously promised he wouldn't) is costing $20,000 a day

I don't doubt it.

If I was a parishioner attending a catholic church I would be severely concerned about the lengths the church is going to just to save Pell.

My opinion is that the church has already been severely tarnished and allowing Pell to fall on his sword wouldn't change the animosity towards the church very much.

Also that the church can afford 20k a day for a lawyer means they're making too much money somewhere and obviously have a slush fund for this sort of thing. They should be paying tax.

One witness, possibly. Two incidents from two unrelated witnesses, is more than heresay.
The biggest positive to come out of this Royal Commission is that, ultimately from a domino effect in one's mind, people are less likely to have beliefs based on magical thinking.
I expect at least 90% of non-immigrant Australians to be atheist or agnostic by 2100.

I don't think people will be deferring to the royal commission to help clarify their religious beliefs.

Unless you can offer people a better option for the afterlife than eternal nothingness I think belief in god will stay strong.

Pell is entitled to the presumption of innocence. If he has truly done anything wrong he will be arrested and convicted for it. A concerted media campaign designed to smear Pell and the church shouldn't usurp their natural rights, nor derail his ambition to become pope if he is innocent.

The Catholic Church is an evil organisation that has caused numerous suicides and Pell is one of its flag bearers.

Aren't you just generalising? And isn't 'evil' a religious concept?

The concept of an afterlife is due to mankind's narcissistic denial of eternal obliteration. If it wasn't for cultural norms, religious belief will be diagnosed as a mental disorder.

You aren't aware of victims of child sexual abuse by Catholic employees committing suicide?
As for 'evil', it is a word in the English lexicon to convey a concept

That for millenniums across all cultures and civilizations humanity has had the capacity for religious faith shows it is entirely normal. That doesn't make it true, but as history proves it is a fundamental intrinsic part of the human psyche. One might also argue that the belief something can come from nothing and we are all here by accident our lives are worthless and futile is evidence of mental illness.

I am aware there is evil in the church, just like there is evil in every single religion and institution (ie schools, hospitals, governments) ever conceived. But I don't allow the actions of a few to define the whole. Less than 1% of priests are perpetrators so should you take that into context when manipulating victims to launch your ideological offensive against the church.

Weight of numbers does not qualify it as normal.

What amuses me is that if you ask people if they believe in unicorns they laugh, and yet an omnipotent man in the sky is somehow reasonable? A double standard like this only proves that religion and faith are paid far too much respect.

The issue with human psyche is that we irrationally fear the unknown. That doesn't make religion/faith even remotely reasonable or positive.

I don't want to get into any hair splitting conversations about what 'normal' means, but it's safe to say when the majority of the world has religious faith that it has foundations broader than mental illness. It wasn't so long ago that an omnipotent man in the sky might have been considered more rational than an invisible man in nature pulling the evolutionary strings.

The comparisons of the omnipotent sky man and the unicorns are laughable. Unicorns don't transcend nation, race, culture and civilisation like religious faith does. There is a consistency about religious faith that cannot be denied, and although it might take on various forms it proves ultimately that belief in god, although perhaps not true, is absolutely reasonable.

The reality is the majority of the world fears the unknown. Numbers do not add weight to speculation.

Evolutionary strings? Evolution just is. There is no driving force other than the conversion of energy from one form to another. A lack of understanding by people does not reasonably infer a 'god like' driving force behind evolution. That kind of association is playing "god of the gaps" essentially which in itself is trying to define rather than understand (I sound like Murdoch's Rags).

What's laughable is that you fit my previous post perfectly. Unicorns are a mythical creature talked about by numerous cultures and races as well. There is a consistency that unicorns have a horn sticking out of the top of their head.

Belief in god is unreasonable. There is absolutely no basis other than personal anecdotal evidence that there is god. If belief was reasonable, it wouldn't be called 'faith'. Faith essentially accepts the absence of logic.

Try selling that to people before the 18th century, try explaining to them that there existence on earth is down to accident and sheer luck. Now you might be correct, but in the absence of evidence your ideas would be dismissed as heretical and lunacy. Given the choice between belief in omnipotent man creator of all things and mankind, and mistake, accident and sheer luck, do you really think it was so irrational for people back then to put their faith in a creator and architect? Perhaps people back then tried their best to make sense of the world with the limited knowledge and education they had - and religious faiths is what stacked up logically. Does this make them mentally ill, or just ignorant?

Unicorns aren't spoken about across all cultures, civilisations etc with the same consistency of religious faith. Religious faith is absolutely unique in this regard. It doesn't matter where or what era you go, where there are people, there are believers. My point isn't to demonstrate that god is real, rather that religious faith is reasonable due to its sheer ubiquity across time and place. Again it doesn't make it true, rather that given its almost universal acceptance and consensus that it requires solid proof to prove otherwise.

They were taught to fear by the church so they did. Their irrational fear of death or things they didn't understand was a product of their time.

Religions simply developed as a way to find peace and hope in death and the unknown. Humans are inherently afraid of what we cannot understand.

I guess the drop in faith correlates to an increase in understanding.

So they were all just zombie people who had no concept of reason or ability to think independently of church doctrine?

They were also, for their time, the best way of understanding the natural environment. For many people it's still the best way of explaining things. An increase in understanding doesn't really directly correlate with a reduction in faith, vast majority of folks choose their beliefs based on superficial understanding of these themes, most is derived from intuition. It's more likely the separation of church and state and the resultant less direct influence of church over people's lives freed them up to think more independently and go on their own tangents.

No they were fine as long as their thinking was within the scope of the church.

There are thousands of examples of free thinkers getting killed by the church.

Yes because some people are unable to grasp that we cannot understand everything. It's a weak and illogical way to explain something.

Imagine in 1000 years humanity will look back on us and our methods as intellectual neanderthals.

It's actually the institutional attempts to cover up the 1% that is the issue at play here.

The child abuse royal commission has announced it is trying to find a suitable location in Rome to allow abuse survivors to be present when Cardinal George Pell gives evidence next week.

A group of survivors has been pushing to be allowed to hear Cardinal Pell's evidence in person, after he was given permission to give evidence via video link from Rome due to ill health.

Commissioner Justice Peter McClellan told the third public hearing sitting in Ballarat it was a "reasonable" request.

He told the inquiry a suitable hotel room in central Rome had been located and tests would be carried out to ensure the hearing could be video linked back to Sydney.

He added if that room was not suitable, another location would be found.

A crowd-funding campaign has raised $204,000 to send survivors of abuse to Rome.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-22/request-survivors-george-pell-testify-rome-reasonable/7188716

Ignoring the arguments as to whether religion has any validation or not, and returning to the issue of George Pell's knowledge of goings on in the 80s, 90s, and his apparent lack of interest in appearing before the Royal Commission. The reality is that the man has been travelling around the world for years - to and from Australia - as recently as 10 months ago - whilst claiming that he couldn't appear at the Commission. Now he's ordered to come, and suddenly he has a medical condition (diagnosed by his personal doctor at the Vatican, not by an independent doctor) that says he can't fly. Awww shucks, that's terribly inconvenience.

Should knock any chance of him being Pope out of the window though - what use is a Pope who can't travel around the world?

Edited by Benjamin: 22/2/2016 01:16:38 PM

The Catholic Church is an evil organisation that has caused numerous suicides and Pell is one of its flag bearers.

One witness, possibly. Two incidents from two unrelated witnesses, is more than heresay.
The biggest positive to come out of this Royal Commission is that, ultimately from a domino effect in one's mind, people are less likely to have beliefs based on magical thinking.
I expect at least 90% of non-immigrant Australians to be atheist or agnostic by 2100.

You are such a fuckhead. You smear Pell by association, so why not left wing journalist Paul Bongiorno who lived with a pedo in Bendigo?

Personally I would say that this was a clear case of the Catholic church, as an organisation, being about as evil as an organisation can be. I'd be interested to hear the defence to that argument.

The problem is, because this institution talks about a man in the clouds, they've been allowed far more leeway than any other institution to commit foul abuse, and then protect the abusers.

The hypocrisy of their actions, compared to their words, is absolutely breathtaking.

This is what annoys me so much.

For some reason they're permitted to hide behind religion to absolve themselves of horrific crimes.

Society is worse off with the influence of out dated draconian laws.

You mean an organisation like the BBC that protected it's known pedophiles for years, and continues to do so? Or the ALP? Why did Gillards witch hunt deliberately exclude the judiciary and the legislative arms of government from the terms of reference?

You mean an organisation like the BBC that protected it's known pedophiles for years, and continues to do so? Or the ALP? Why did Gillards witch hunt deliberately exclude the judiciary and the legislative arms of government from the terms of reference?

You mean an organisation like the BBC that protected it's known pedophiles for years, and continues to do so? Or the ALP? Why did Gillards witch hunt deliberately exclude the judiciary and the legislative arms of government from the terms of reference?

Religion has its problems but i hate it when people talk crap about people who are religous saying we're fucking idiots who belive in an imaingery beings. I have ny reasons why im religious and i dont need to justify my faith to people who automatically attack my choice

Wow . Just wow . Yes the bbc have fucked up but to somehow turn this into a right wing v left wing argument due to tour bias is shocking. As a catholic i want pell to come home and face the music if he has nothing to hide. But of course you will bitch about it like andrew bolt.

I don't think most people care what others believe on an individual level.

The issue is the consequences of what happens when they have power and influence on an organisational level.

For me, faith is a problem. Faith is believing in something without evidence. In fact, it is a requirement that evidence can't exist if faith is going to exist. Because if there was proof or evidence, it would no longer be faith.

That is an argument against rationality. And that is what is dangerous. If you have faith in benign things, well great.

But when someone has faith in something violent or destructive, it is extremely dangerous.

You can't use rationality or logic to persuade someone to change their mind about something they believe that has no basis in rationality or logic.

Andrew Bolt has chimed in on the issue? I need some laughs.
Got a link?

Oh really ? When i tell people im catholic i get called a kiddy fiddler and i should have myv3 kids taken away from me . My wife is muslim and the amount of crap she has to put up with is unbearable.. also im rational and have great logic . Just because im relgious doesnt mean im some sort of syncpoat. I argue , i question my religion to others who are also catholic.

Religion has its problems but i hate it when people talk crap about people who are religous saying we're fucking idiots who belive in an imaingery beings. I have ny reasons why im religious and i dont need to justify my faith to people who automatically attack my choice

Your belief doesn't indemnify you against the same criticism we level at other aspects of life. Face it, people cannot be expected to respect your faith if you publicly speak about it.

I hate the assumption that faith should be untouchable/beyond reproach. By this I don't mean calling you a kiddy fiddler for being catholic or a terrorist for being muslim. It means people whinging because their organization is attacked.

Lets face it, your faith is your faith. No one else understands it. No one can be expected to make the leap of faith to understand you.

Faith is by definition unreasonable. That's why it's called faith.

Faith can be critisized . Im all for every faith to be critisized. But theres criticism and theres personal attacks which i get constantly when i mention in a catholic.. play the ball not the man. Im critical of the church for being out of touch . And for years being cupable of covering up pedos.

Faith can be critisized . Im all for every faith to be critisized. But theres criticism and theres personal attacks which i get constantly when i mention in a catholic.. play the ball not the man. Im critical of the church for being out of touch . And for years being cupable of covering up pedos.

Religion has its problems but i hate it when people talk crap about people who are religous saying we're fucking idiots who belive in an imaingery beings. I have ny reasons why im religious and i dont need to justify my faith to people who automatically attack my choice

If the government tried to force a sick baby on a plane, why won't they do the same with a sick Cardinal?

I have no problem with people who are religious UNTIL they:
- claim that another religious group's beliefs are 'wrong' or 'inferior' to their own;
- claim that they have the right to do something, or be judged differently, because of their religion;
- deny scientifically proven information that contradicts what they have been taught from a centuries old text; and/or
- teach material which has been demonstrated to be false as if it were fact.

Pt c) science and religon can actually get along quiet well. I know plenty of religous people who work in the science field. Their faith doesn't define them in their jobs

some people just need that comfort in believing in something they cant explain

I've always found this fascinating - religion is based on truth by revelation, truth by authority (eg holy books).

Science is based on truth thru empirical research.

They are completely opposed to each other, yet it is true that there are scientists who are religious. However I would point out that the rate of religious belief amongst scientists is extraordinarily low compared to the general population.

I think the ability of some scientists to hold religious beliefs says more about the power of religious programming, and the ability of the human psyche to compartmentalise opposing systems of logic.

Rotherham gang which groomed, raped and abused teenage girls is jailed for total of 102 years including 35-year term for ringleader 'Mad Ash'
Brothers Arshid, Basharat and Bannaras Hussain 'ruled Rotherham' with their drugs and guns operations and abused girls with impunity
Their uncle Qurban Ali, Karen MacGregor and Shelley Davis were also found guilty of offences, targeting 15 vulnerable girls over 16 years
Judge Sarah Wright jailed the gang for a total of 102 years in court today
By ANTHONY JOSEPH and EUAN MCLELLAND FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 22:42 EST, 26 February 2016 | UPDATED: 07:15 EST, 27 February 2016

3.4k
shares
801
View comments
The Rotherham gang which groomed, raped and abused teenage girls has today been jailed for a total of 102 years.
Brothers Arshid, 40, Bannaras, 36, and Basharat, 39, were also sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court today after a series of women - most now in their 30s - told a jury how they were sexually, physically and emotionally abused in the South Yorkshire town when they were in their early teens.
The Hussains were found guilty of a range of offences earlier this week along with their uncle, Qurban Ali, 53, and two women - Karen MacGregor, 59, and Shelley Davis, 40.
The group targeted 15 vulnerable girls, one aged only 11, and forced them to perform horrific sex acts over a sixteen year period.
Judge Sarah Wright told the gang: 'The harm you have caused is of unimaginable proportions.'
Scroll down for videos
Brothers Arshid (left), 40, and Basharat Hussain (middle), 39, committed multiple rapes and indecent assaults on teenagers in the South Yorkshire town. Their younger brother, Bannaras Hussain (right), 36, admitted ten charges - including rape, indecent assault and assault occasioning actual bodily harm
+8
Brothers Arshid (left), 40, and Basharat Hussain (middle), 39, committed multiple rapes and indecent assaults on teenagers in the South Yorkshire town. Their younger brother, Bannaras Hussain (right), 36, admitted ten charges - including rape, indecent assault and assault occasioning actual bodily harm
Arshid and Basharat Hussain were found guilty of dozens of attacks between them. Arshid, the ringleader, has been jailed for 35 years, while Basharat was given 25 years.
Bannaras Hussain admitted ten charges - including rape, indecent assault and assault occasioning actual bodily harm - at the beginning of the trial. He was given a 19-year sentence.
ROTHERHAM SEX GANG SENTENCES
Arshid Hussain - 35 years
Basharat Hussain - 25 years
Bannaras Hussain - 19 years
Karen MacGregor - 13 years
Qurban Ali - 10 years
Shelley Davis - 18 months (suspended)
The brothers' uncle, Qurban Ali, 53, appeared alongside them in court. He too was found guilty of conspiracy to rape and has been jailed for 10 years.
MacGregor and Davis were found guilty of conspiracy to procure prostitutes and false imprisonment.
MacGregor was jailed for 13 years, while Davis was handed an 18-month suspended sentence.
Shocking details emerged of an incident where police appeared to turn a blind eye to Bannaras Hussain receiving oral sex from a girl who was only around 12 or 13 at the time.
Bannaras abused the victim in a car park next to Rotherham Police Station. The prosecutor Michelle Colborne QC said: '(The girl) performed oral sex on Bannaras Hussain.
'When, shortly afterwards, a police car pulled up alongside them and asked what was going on, Bannaras Hussain shouted "she's just sucking my c***, mate".
'The police car drove off. He was indifferent to whether she consented or not.'
RELATED ARTICLES
Previous
1
Next

Leader of Rotherham sex grooming gang wanted IVF treatment...

Asian sex abusers to be stripped of UK citizenship and...

Police 'took part in Rotherham child sex abuse and ignored...

Drunken racist yob who beat Muslim grandfather, 81, to death...
SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Share
3.4k shares
The girl was beaten up by her own family when they found out she had been abused by the Rotherham grooming gang since she was 12.
The prosecutor added: 'When her brothers found out, they were furious with her and would physically assault her because she was involved sexually with an Asian man.'
As Judge Wright passed sentence on Arshid, there was a shout of 'Yes' and gasps from the packed public gallery.
Some of the victims and their relatives who held hands on the balcony of the court hugged each other.
Arshid was clearly visible on a big screen in court - appearing by video-link from Doncaster Prison. He showed no reaction at the sentence, barely opening his eyes for most of the hearing.
The Hussain brothers' uncle, Qurban Ali, 53, was also found guilty of conspiracy to rape
Shelley Davies, 40, was found guilty of conspiracy to procure prostitutes and false imprisonment
Karen MacGregor, described in court as a 'mother figure', took in girls from children's homes purporting to give them a safe haven and support - only to then have them abused
The Hussain brothers' uncle, Qurban Ali (left), 53, was also found guilty of conspiracy to rape. Shelley Davies, (centre) 40, was found guilty of conspiracy to procure prostitutes and false imprisonment. Karen MacGregor (right) took in girls from children's homes purporting to give them a safe haven and support - only to then have them abused
The judge said: 'Each in your own way perpetrated or facilitated the sexual abuse of these young girls.
'Your victims were targeted, sexualised and in some cases subjected to acts of a degrading and violent nature.
'Many of the victims were subjected to repeated abuse. There was a pattern of abuse which was repeated over and over again. Some victims were groomed, some coerced and intimidated.
'They were made to feel that they could not report what was happening to them.
'Even if they did, no action was taken and you were free to continue your exploitation of them.'
Addressing Arshid, she said: 'You and your brothers, Bannaras Hussain and Basharat Hussain, were well-known in the area - you drove distinctive cars and had a reputation for violence.
'There was a perception by some of your victims that you appeared, in their words, to "rule Rotherham". You exploited that to the full.'
Two other men, Majid Bostan, 37 and Sajid Bostan, 38, also brothers, were cleared of all charges.
JUDGE THANKS VICTIMS FOR 'IMMEASURABLE COURAGE' TO SPEAK OUT
A judge has thanked the victims of the Hussain brothers for their 'immeasurable courage' and made a point of praising the woman whose story led to the prosecution.
Judge Sarah Wright told Sheffield Crown Court that while some of the women were accused in court of making up stories for money or of being fantasists, their real motive was 'to bring the issue of child sexual exploitation into the public domain'.
Judge Wright told the defendants: 'Before I deal with the role that each of you played in this appalling catalogue of offending, I wish to pay tribute to the victims in this case.
'They came forward to give their accounts to the police despite, in some cases, having tried to speak up previously when nothing was done.
'For many years they have not been heard. They have had no voice.'
She said: 'They showed immeasurable courage in giving evidence and, in effect, having to re-live their abuse in this court.
'It was a recurrent theme when they were accused in cross-examination on behalf of a defendant of inventing stories for financial gain or being accused of being fantasists that it became apparent that their real motive for coming forward was their desire to bring the issue of child sexual exploitation into the public domain and a wish to prevent it happening to other children in the future.
'They hope that by them speaking out it will not just act as a deterrent to others behaving in this way towards young people but also ensure that the appropriate authorities will not fail to take action in the future in the face of evidence of such crimes.
'Their bravery in speaking up, knowing they would be repeatedly accused of lying in this court, was considerable and cannot be under-estimated.'
The judge went through the stories of each of the 15 victims in turn.
When she got to the account of one woman, who was systematically abused by Arshid Hussain as a teenager, she said: 'Despite the substantial hurdles she has encountered, your victim has shown considerable courage, tenacity and a steely determination in bringing these horrific crimes to the attention of the public.'
This woman first told her story to reporter Andrew Norfolk, from the Times, starting a process which led to a huge investigation, the Jay Report into child sexual exploitation in Rotherham and this week's convictions.
The judge told Arshid: 'Her victim impact statement highlights how she was just a child when you abused her.
'This was not a relationship, as has been suggested by the defence. She was a child and you were an adult.
'She lost her education, her friends and her family as result of your actions. She too has self-harmed and suffered from eating disorders. She vividly describes her life as being shattered into a million pieces and she feels she is just held together by sticky tape.'
Judge Wright described the actions of the gang as 'this appalling catalogue of offending'.
She went through each of the victim's stories one-by-one.
Concluding one account, she said: 'The effect of the abuse of her has been devastating.
'Her childhood memories are of pain and abuse. She is unable to trust anyone.
'She has suffered from eating disorders and anxiety throughout her life. You took her childhood from her.'
In relation to another victim, the judge said: 'She describes you, Basharat Hussain, as stealing the person she was and alienating her from her family.
'She describes contemplating taking her own life when she became pregnant and indeed on occasions since.
'She feels worthless and ashamed as a result of your treatment of her. She feels guilt. She should not have to feel like that. You are responsible, not her.'
Hussain, who claims to be paraplegic, appeared from his bed at home via video link looking as if he was asleep
+8
Hussain, who claims to be paraplegic, appeared from his bed at home via video link looking as if he was asleep
Ms Colborne handed in a pile of victim personal statements, highlighting a comment from one girl who said the Hussain brothers acted 'as a pack of animals' when she was urinated on.
The prosecutor said: 'They describe from their teenage years a life in the main of feeling dirty, ashamed and guilty.
'Between them, a plethora of emotional conditions - eating disorders, self-harm, agoraphobia, self-loathing and terminations for many of them from the age of 14 - events they have never been able to put behind them.'
The jury heard how the Hussain brothers, known as, Mad Ash, Bash and Bono, 'ruled Rotherham' with their drugs and guns operation and abused girls with impunity.
Ms Colborne said many of the victims have had relationship problems throughout their lives and have found themselves subjected to domestic violence.
She paid tribute to the 'immense courage' of the women who came forward.
Arshid Hussain (pictured) raped his young victims and subjected them to a catalogue of indecent assaults
+8
Arshid Hussain (pictured) raped his young victims and subjected them to a catalogue of indecent assaults
In a trial that lasted two months, Sheffield Crown Court heard how teenage girls in the town were repeatedly raped and beaten by men who passed them around and forced some to work as prostitutes.
A jury of six women and six men deliberated on a total of 51 counts, involving 12 alleged victims, in a trial that lasted two months.
On Wednesday, victims of the gang welcomed the convictions after so many years in which they were disbelieved and ignored by the authorities.
MacGregor (circled) set up a support group - KinKids - for family members looking after children whose parents could no longer cope - recruiting the support of her local Labour MP John Healey (middle) who took her to Westminster to discuss the issue
+8
MacGregor (circled) set up a support group - KinKids - for family members looking after children whose parents could no longer cope - recruiting the support of her local Labour MP John Healey (middle) who took her to Westminster to discuss the issue
DCI of South Yorkshire Police thanks victims for their support
Loaded: 0%Progress: 0%00:00
Play
Mute
Current Time 0:00
/
Duration Time 0:53
Fullscreen
Need Text
Some of the 12 women who told their stories to the jury over the last two months sat in the public gallery holding hands as Arshid and Basharat were found guilty of offences including rapes and many indecent assaults which, if they happened now, would be classified as rape.
The brothers were given access to their victims by local women MacGregor and Davies.
MacGregor, described in court as a 'mother figure', took in girls - all of whom were white - from children's homes, purporting to give them a safe haven and support.
But she allowed them to be abused and kept captive, telling them they needed to 'earn their keep' by having sex with a succession of visiting men.
She even set up a support group - Kin Kids - for family members looking after children whose parents could no longer cope - recruiting the support of her local Labour MP who took her to Westminster to discuss the issue.
Yet with the women's help, the Hussain brothers - known as Mad Ash, Bash and Bono - were able to rape multiple girls, many of whom were also indecently assaulted.
After the verdicts, the police watchdog said it was now looking into more than 194 allegations about police conduct in relation to exploitation in Rotherham and 54 officers had so far been named, 26 of whom have been notified they are being formally investigated.
ROTHERHAM CHILD SEX ABUSE GANG: FULL LIST OF THEIR CONVICTIONS
Arshid Hussain, 40, of High Street, East Cowick, Goole, was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to rape, 11 indecent assaults, three rapes, one other serious sexual assault, one count of procuring a girl under 21 to have unlawful sex with another, one count of false imprisonment, two counts of procuring a woman under 21 to become a common prostitute, one count of attempting to procure a girl under 21 to have unlawful sexual intercourse, one count of abducting a 15-year-old girl, one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
He was cleared of two rapes, two counts of aiding and abetting rape and one of aiding and abetting a serious sexual assault at the end of the trial. He was also cleared of one count of abduction on the orders of the judge.
Basharat Hussain, 39, of no fixed address, was convicted of one rape, five indecent assaults, one count of procuring a girl under 21 to have unlawful sexual intercourse with another, false imprisonment, three counts of indecency with a child, one count of procuring a woman under 21 to become a common prostitute, two assaults occasioning actual bodily harm and one count of making threats to kill.
Qurban Ali, 53, of Clough Road, Rotherham, was convicted of conspiracy to rape. He was cleared of one count each of indecent assault, rape and procuring a girl under 21 to have unlawful sexual intercourse with another.
Karen MacGregor, 58, of Barnsley Road, Wath-upon-Dearne, South Yorkshire, and Rotherham, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to procure a woman under 21 to become a common prostitute, false imprisonment and two counts of conspiracy to rape.
Shelley Davies, 40, of Wainwright Road, Kimberworth Park, Rotherham, was convicted of conspiracy to procure a woman under 21 to become a common prostitute and false imprisonment. During the course of the trial she was cleared of a charge of conspiracy to rape.
Majid Bostan, 37, of Ledsham Road, Broom, Rotherham, was cleared of one indecent assault.
Sajid Bostan, 38, of Broom Avenue, Broom, Rotherham, was cleared of three rapes, two counts of aiding and abetting rape, one indecent assault and one other serious sexual assault.
Before the trial Bannaras Hussain, 36, of Goole, admitted 10 charges - two rapes, six indecent assaults, an assault occasioning actual bodily harm and procuring a woman to be a prostitute. He denied a further count of rape which will lie on file.
The convictions involved a total of 15 victims. Twelve of these were involved in the trial and three were only victims of Bannaras Hussain, who pleaded guilty.
Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, said British Pakistanis needed to acknowledge the problem of grooming gangs operating in their communities.
He said: 'Until British Pakistanis accept that this is a problem for our community we will not be able to eradicate this evil. Burying our head in the sand as the usual response is not good enough.'
One victim of the Rotherham gang, referred to as 'Jessica', said: 'It has been 16 years we have waited for this.
'It has not sunk in yet. This can give me some closure, for me my life starts now.'
The jury heard how MacGregor lured vulnerable girls to stay at her 'Hansel and Gretel' house in Rotherham, promising them refuge but pimping them out to a succession of men for sex to 'earn their keep'.
Professor Alexis Jay (pictured) found 'utterly appalling' examples of abuse in her investigation into Rotherham child sex rings
+8
Professor Alexis Jay (pictured) found 'utterly appalling' examples of abuse in her investigation into Rotherham child sex rings
Arshid followed the court case from his bed at home via video link. The jury heard how he claims to be a paraplegic following a shooting in 2005.
During the verdicts he could be seen on screens in court apparently asleep. But Judge Sarah Wright said he was taken to hospital with police officers after his wife called an ambulance.
Prosecutors said they believed this was a deliberate attempt to frustrate the judicial process.
The convictions of the Hussain brothers and their associates is the first successful prosecution of a grooming gang in Rotherham since the child sexual exploitation scandal engulfed the town 18 months ago.
Rotherham became a byword for the exploitation of teenage girls and the failure of police and social workers to stop it happening with the publication of the Jay Report in August 2014.
Professor Alexis Jay said she had found 'utterly appalling' examples of 'children who had been doused in petrol and threatened with being set alight, threatened with guns, made to witness brutally-violent rapes and threatened they would be next if they told anyone'.
Her report shocked the nation partly due to the scale of exploitation it described, finding that at least 1,400 children had been raped, trafficked and groomed in the town over a 16-year period.
But its impact was so far reaching because it also laid bare the extend to which police and council officials failed to act on what they knew, and explicitly questioned whether this neglect was related to the perpetrators largely being adult men of a Pakistani heritage
Although the Jay Report resulted in the Rotherham exploitation becoming a national scandal, it was the previous major prosecution of a grooming gang in the town that kick-started this process.
POLICE CHIEF PRAISES VICTIMS
Authorities clamoured outside Sheffield Crown Court on Wednesday to praise victims for their 'incredible bravery' in giving evidence.
Temporary detective chief inspector Martin Tait, from South Yorkshire Police, called the verdicts a 'crucial milestone for those victims and survivors who endured years of violence and horrific sexual abuse at the hands of these vile individuals'.
He said: 'They have shown incredible bravery reliving vicious traumatic events for the courts.
'For their courage and support of this investigation I am eternally thankful, and can't really express how pleased I am for them.
DCI Martin Tait (left) and Ian Thomas, Strategic Director Children and Young People's Services (right), speak outside court on Wednesday
DCI Martin Tait (left) and Ian Thomas, Strategic Director Children and Young People's Services (right), speak outside court on Wednesday
'I'm pleased that their voices have finally been heard, believed and that those responsible been publicly held to account for their crimes.'
Looking forward, he added: 'If victims of sexual abuse come to the police we will help then, we will support them, and do everything we can to put these criminals responsible in prison where they belong.'
Ian Thomas, strategic director, Children and Young People's Services, at Rotherham Council, made an impassioned plea for former and current victims of abuse to step forward.
He acknowledged that 'some justice has been served, for the few' but said that there was much more to do.
He said: 'My message to them is clear.
'If you have suffered abuse in the past, or indeed are suffering from abuse or exploitation now, step forward.
'I urge you - I implore you - to have confidence in a new Rotherham partnership today.'
In 2010, five men - Umar Razaq, Razwan Razaq, Zafran Ramzan, Adil Hussain, Mohsin Khan - were found guilty of a string of sex offences against girls aged between 12 and 16.
This case provoked some media attention but did not gain nationwide coverage.
But it was followed by a growing number of prosecutions of a similar nature around the UK, including in Derby, Oxford and Rochdale.
Times reporter Andrew Norfolk exposed a pattern of mainly white teenage girls being groomed by gangs of adult men of a Pakistani heritage.
When Mr Norfolk began to disclose in detail the stories of girls who had been exploited in Rotherham, it started a chain of events that led to Rotherham Council asking Professor Jay to look into what was happening.
Waves of criticism followed, aimed mainly at Rotherham Council and South Yorkshire Police.
Resignations included the leader and chief executive of the council as well as its director of children's services.
The most high-profile casualty was South Yorkshire's Police and Crime Commissioner, Shaun Wright, who was the councillor in charge of Rotherham's children's services between 2005 and 2010.
A further review of Rotherham Council by the Government's Troubled Families chief, Louise Casey, heaped more criticism on an authority she labelled as 'not fit for purpose' and 'in denial'.
That led to the then communities and local government secretary Eric Pickles handing over its powers to a panel of appointed commissioners.
South Yorkshire Police says it now has a team of more than 60 officers working on child sexual exploitation (CSE).
Its joint operation with the council and Crown Prosecution Service - Operation Clover - has resulted in the current prosecution and others currently moving through the criminal justice system.
The National Crime Agency has also been brought in to investigate historical crimes and last year announced it was looking at 300 potential suspects.
The police and the NCA have said that successful prosecutions are the key to building trust with the survivors of child sexual exploitation in Rotherham.
But, also last year, David Greenwood, a lawyer who represents 65 women who were subjected to sexual abuse by gangs of men in Rotherham between 1996 and 2012, said he was aware of fewer than 100 victims who had come forward.
Lesley McLean, Manager for the independent charity Victim Support in Rotherham, paid tribute to the woman who relived their horrific experiences in the dock.
She said: 'The women who made the brave decision to speak out and seek justice have shown tremendous courage and we hope the sentences passed today will go some way to helping them recover from the horrendous crimes they have suffered.
'As a charity which has supported many of these victims through our Vulnerable Victims Programme, and thousands of victims of sexual assault every year, we know that this appalling crime can leave a trail of destruction on victims’ lives.
'It is critical that victims know where to turn for help and that they will be believed and given the support they need.'
In a trial that lasted two months, Sheffield Crown Court heard how teenage girls in the town were repeatedly raped and beaten by men who passed them around and forced some to work as prostitutes
+8
In a trial that lasted two months, Sheffield Crown Court heard how teenage girls in the town were repeatedly raped and beaten by men who passed them around and forced some to work as prostitutes
It emerged today that powers created to deport terrorists are being used to remove members of Asian child sex grooming gangs with dual nationalities under a new effort by the Home Office.
Home Secretary Theresa May plans to significantly increase the withdrawal of British citizenship for serious criminals with dual nationality, Whitehall sources told The Independent.
According to senior Home Office sources, there is likely to be an 'acceleration of passport strike-outs and potential deportations'.
South Yorkshire Police are carrying out extra patrols in Rotherham over fears of Islamophobic attacks in the wake of today's sentencing.
Chief Superintendent Jason Harwin told The Guardian: 'While racially motivated recorded crimes in Rotherham are lower than this time last year, we are aware that this is an under-reported issue.
'This is something we are addressing by working closely with third-party reporting centres and exploring how we can improve our response to this crime.
'We really want victims of hate crime to feel confident in coming forward so if you have been a victim, or know someone who is a victim, please do tell someone, whether that is the police or another agency. We can deal with reports and information in confidence.'
VICTIM: TRIAL 'ONE OF THE HARDEST THINGS EVER...BUT SO WORTH IT'
One victim of the Rotherham gang said going through with the investigation was one of the hardest things she had ever done - but concluded that it was 'so worth it'.
The woman hoped her experience would give others the resolve to come forward and put more child abusers behind bars.
She was just 14 when she was groomed and came to fear for her life at the hands of controlling and violent Arshid Hussain.
He preyed on the teenager after meeting her at a party in the late 1990s, and would wait for her outside school. Soon he was having sex with her, despite knowing her age and being a decade older.
The woman hoped her experience would give others the resolve to come forward and put more child abusers behind bars
+8
The woman hoped her experience would give others the resolve to come forward and put more child abusers behind bars
The victim, who cannot be identified but who is referred to as 'Jessica', said: 'It has been 16 years we have waited for this. It has not sunk in yet. This can give me some closure, for me my life starts now. It has been such a mess, I can finally move on.
'The investigation started two-and-a-half years ago and it has been one of the hardest things I have had to do, but it is so worth it. It's an emotional rollercoaster.
'I think a lot of people will come forward now, and think 'if they can get justice after nearly two decades, so can I'.'
Earlier, Jessica told the BBC: 'Very quickly he started being controlling. I wasn't allowed to do anything without his permission.
'He isolated me from friends and family and it became the only person in my world was him.
'He was very violent towards me. There were times when I thought he was going to kill me.'

Rotherham victims will take police to court in bid to get hold of confidential abuse case files
By Anthony Joseph for MailOnline
The victims of Rotherham child abuse gangs are due to take South Yorkshire Police to court over allegations that officers turned a blind eye to the grooming.
The women, most of whom are now in their 30s, want the force to reveal confidential records on how they handled the decades of abuse in the town.
South Yorkshire Police is reportedly refusing to disclose documentation, including call logs and data, which could establish if the accusations are true and which officers were involved.
Today it emerged that one victim, aged 12 or 13 at the time, performed oral sex on abuse gang member Bannaras Hussain outside a police station.
A police car pulled up next to them and when asked what was going, Bannaras replied: 'She's just sucking my c***, mate'. Sheffield Crown Court was told that the police car then drove off.
Police: Rotherham convictions 'crucial milestone' for victims
Loaded: 0%Progress: 0%00:00
Play
Mute
Current Time 0:00
/
Duration Time 1:52
Fullscreen
Need Text
Sheffield lawyer David Greenwood, who is acting for 65 victims, is planning to seek a court order for the force to hand over the files.
He told The Guardian: 'The police are putting up stiff resistance.
'The police and the CPS don't like it. I have offered them the same undertaking as the council and they are still saying 'no'.'
'The difficulty for the girls is trusting anyone in authority. Getting details from them is off-the-scale difficult.
'They could be entitled to compensation but if it's too distressing for them, I would urge women to be careful and not to come forward until they are ready and they have support.'
Professor Alexis Jay's report shocked the nation partly due to the scale of exploitation it described, finding that at least 1,400 children had been raped, trafficked and groomed in the town over a 16-year period.
But its impact was so far reaching because it also laid bare the extend to which police and council officials failed to act on what they knew, and explicitly questioned whether this neglect was related to the perpetrators largely being adult men of a Pakistani heritage
Although the Jay Report resulted in the Rotherham exploitation becoming a national scandal, it was the previous major prosecution of a grooming gang in the town that kick-started this process.
Professor Alexis Jay (pictured) found 'utterly appalling' examples of abuse in her investigation into Rotherham child sex rings
+8
Professor Alexis Jay (pictured) found 'utterly appalling' examples of abuse in her investigation into Rotherham child sex rings
In 2010, five men - Umar Razaq, Razwan Razaq, Zafran Ramzan, Adil Hussain, Mohsin Khan - were found guilty of a string of sex offences against girls aged between 12 and 16.
This case provoked some media attention but did not gain nationwide coverage.
But it was followed by a growing number of prosecutions of a similar nature around the UK, including in Derby, Oxford and Rochdale.
Times reporter Andrew Norfolk exposed a pattern of mainly white teenage girls being groomed by gangs of adult men of a Pakistani heritage.
When Mr Norfolk began to disclose in detail the stories of girls who had been exploited in Rotherham, it started a chain of events that led to Rotherham Council asking Professor Jay to look into what was happening.
Waves of criticism followed, aimed mainly at Rotherham Council and South Yorkshire Police.
Resignations included the leader and chief executive of the council as well as its director of children's services.
The most high-profile casualty was South Yorkshire's Police and Crime Commissioner, Shaun Wright, who was the councillor in charge of Rotherham's children's services between 2005 and 2010.
A further review of Rotherham Council by the Government's Troubled Families chief, Louise Casey, heaped more criticism on an authority she labelled as 'not fit for purpose' and 'in denial'.
That led to the then communities and local government secretary Eric Pickles handing over its powers to a panel of appointed commissioners.
South Yorkshire Police says it now has a team of more than 60 officers working on child sexual exploitation (CSE).
Its joint operation with the council and Crown Prosecution Service - Operation Clover - has resulted in the current prosecution and others currently moving through the criminal justice system.
The National Crime Agency has also been brought in to investigate historical crimes and last year announced it was looking at 300 potential suspects.
The police and the NCA have said that successful prosecutions are the key to building trust with the survivors of child sexual exploitation in Rotherham.
MailOnline has contacted South Yorkshire Police for comment.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3465306/Teenager-beaten-brothers-d-abused-Rotherham-grooming-gang-age-12.html#ixzz41X3gytj4
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

I work in ground engineering which involves geology. Our new engineer believes that the earth is 40,000 years old (no joke).

Where did he get 40,000 from ?

Bible's got 6,000 ish, how does he add 34,000 ?

Not a clue. Either way if you believe the earth is 40,000 or 6,000 years old you're still ignorant.

Why are the media downplaying this scandal?

summary here including reasons for cover up because councilors were afraid of being labeled racist
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotherham_child_sexual_exploitation_scandal

Why do you say the media downplayed this? From my understanding it has had a lot of publicity...

6,000 is better because at least he's going by the big book

40,000 is more of a worry, as it sounds like he's trusting someone's scientific theory, just like you, then mixing it with religion.

I'm smelling cult

No it hasnt. There's was no thread on this forum covering it, but there is endless discussion about the Pell.
I would doubt that had I not posted that thread, few if any on this forum would be aware of it.

Political correctness downplays these scandals whilst focussing almost exclusively on christian churches.

Case in point, the Sydney Morning Herald article that covered the Rotherham scandal had a picture of a church as its featured photo, when this has nothing to do with any christian church.

You are equating the lack of a thread on the 442 forum with "the media downplaying this scandal".... since when are 442 Extra Time threads "the media????

Case in point - you refer to an article ABOUT THE ISSUE in an Australian paper to prove the point that the media isn't covering it???

I feel so sorry for the people who were abused or under this guys care during those times.

Listening to the excerpts of his submissions today, he genuinely believes he didn't do anything wrong, nor really cared at the time.

Just deflected and tried to absolve himself of blame the entire time.

Guy needs jail time.

-PB

The leftards were cheering the pope when he was attacking Trump.
Confused people.

everything in the world is not black and white.

Man you never quit. All you do is argue and argue for no particular reason.

What a fascinating and unique insight you provide. I've never ever heard that before.

What a fascinating and unique insight you provide. I've never ever heard that before.

The leftards were cheering the pope when he was attacking Trump.
Confused people.

:lol: I don't need to trust scientific theory, I live it :lol:

If you believe it's 40,000 years old you're trusting un-scientific theory :lol: