LEILA KASSAM AND SHOCKING CHILD SEX RING IN LONDON, IBIZA
A woman named Leila Kassam, aged 32, who was involved in a disturbing child sex ring and subsequently fled to Spain after being convicted, has now been sentenced to prison.Kassam, a resident of Mornington Road in Leytonstone, faced her sentencing at Blackfriars Crown Court and was given a term of four years imprisonment.
The court proceedings revealed that Kassam had engaged in sexual activities with a 15-year-old girl and had arranged a child sex offence earlier this year, in June.
Despite being on bail at the time, she managed to escape the country before she could be sentenced.
The criminal acts involving Kassam date back to 2014, when she and her partner, Paul Silverthorn, 36, also from Mornington Road, introduced the young girl to a wider child exploitation network.
According to court records, the two engaged in sexual acts with the girl after she was introduced to them by an individual acting as a fixer.
The abuse intensified after a party held at Coventry House in Haymarket, where Silverthorn reportedly gave the victim a legal high called 5 NEO.
During this party, Silverthorn reportedly restrained the girl by tying her to a bed, while Kassam allegedly molested her.
These acts of abuse also extended to a second 15-year-old girl, whom Silverthorn sexually abused and for whom he took explicit photographs.
Further complicating the case, it was established that Kassam and Silverthorn collaborated to carry out their abusive activities.
After Kassam's initial crimes, she fled the United Kingdom and traveled to Spain, where she worked on a farm in Ibiza during the summer months.
Her departure from the country was prompted by her mounting legal troubles and the police investigations that were gaining momentum.
The local authorities in the UK, with assistance from Crimewatch and Crimestoppers appeals, made efforts to locate Kassam.
It was the farm owner in Ibiza who ultimately alerted police after seeing these appeals.
The authorities took swift action, and a European Arrest Warrant was issued.
Kassam was apprehended by the Guardia Civil in Spain and was flown back to the United Kingdom on December 9.
Her partner, Paul Silverthorn, remains on the run and is wanted in connection with multiple allegations, including administering substances to a second 16-year-old victim, possessing prohibited images of children, and distributing indecent photographs.
Silverthorn was convicted in absentia of these crimes and sentenced to nine years in prison.
Additionally, the investigation uncovered the involvement of other individuals linked to the exploitation network.
Among them, Faham Jaffer, 33, of High Street, Colliers Wood, and Daniel Trinnaman, 20, of Ventnor Avenue, Stanmore.
Both men were jailed in June for their roles; Trinnaman for sexual activity with a child and for attempting to pervert the course of justice through threatening Facebook messages, while Jaffer was convicted of having sex with a child.
This case highlights the ongoing issues surrounding child exploitation and the importance of law enforcement cooperation across borders to bring offenders to justice.
The sentencing underscores the severity of the crimes committed and the continued efforts to protect vulnerable minors from abuse and exploitation in London and beyond.
