LIVERPOOL MEN JAILED FOR GROOMING AND SEXUALLY ABUSING MISSING GIRL
Two men, Bilal Azzi and Tayeb Battaher, approached a vulnerable teenage girl near a McDonald's and then subjected her to a series of criminal acts.The girl was found by police after being spotted in a takeaway by two women on a hen do, who recognized her from a missing persons appeal.
The young girl was described as 'looking sad and afraid' at the time.
Initially reported missing from her home last year, she was later seen sitting in Liverpool city center with the accused men.
During police investigations, Azzi and Battaher admitted to engaging with her and offering her cannabis and ketamine.
They invited her to their shared house, where they smoked cannabis, and the men also took cocaine and ketamine.
She reported having had sex with Battaher on one occasion.
Azzi was also found to have taken indecent images of her, which were later recovered by police.
The girl described being very drunk when approached, and she initially believed Azzi was called 'Amin' and Battaher 'Pedro.' The court heard that Azzi and Battaher had targeted her because she was very young and vulnerable.
They used drugs to facilitate their criminal activities and committed sexual acts against her, despite her being under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
The victim showed courage throughout the investigation, and both men were convicted by a jury of engaging in sexual activity with a child.
Azzi was also convicted of taking indecent images of a child.
Both men were sentenced to significant prison terms—Azzi received six and a half years, and Battaher received five and a half years—and were handed restraining orders banning contact with the victim for ten years.
They were also required to sign the sex offenders' register for life.
The judge, Stuart Driver KC, emphasized the vulnerability of the victim and the fact that they worked as a team to abuse her, noting that she was a girl who had run away from home and was intoxicated when they picked her up from the streets.
The court highlighted that the offenders had targeted her, working together, and had misused drugs to facilitate their crimes.
Officers involved in the case praised the victim’s bravery and stressed the importance of reporting child abuse to police.
