TWO depraved predators who groomed and raped vulnerable girls in Rotherham have been jailed.
Romauld Stefan Houphouet, 37, and Absolom Sigiyo, 42, attacked two 15-year-old girls “countless” times over a year-long campaign.
PARomauld Stefan Houphouet has been jailed for 20 years[/caption]
The vile pair organised parties where they could get the teens, who were described as “vulnerable in the extreme”, drunk.
They then referred to them as “fresh meat” as they carried out sickening sex attacks.
Houphouet, from Ivory Coast, and Sigiyo, of Zimbabwe, have now been jailed for 20 years and 18-and-a-half years, respectively.
Judge Sarah Wright told the pair they inflicted “severe psychological harm” to the girls, who are suffering to this day.
Sheffield Crown Court heard the horror began in 2011 when the girls, who lived in a children’s home, were targeted.
Both victims lived “chaotic lives” and wanted to escape before they were preyed on by the fiends.
Houphouet and Sigiyo would ply the girls with cigarettes and alcohol before demanding sex in return.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) said they were raped multiple times, with one of the victims attacked two to three times a week by Sigiyo.
Officers from Operation Stovewood – the NCA’s investigation into historic allegations of sexual abuse in Rotherham – contacted the women, who are both now in their 20s, after they were identified as potential victims.
While under investigation for rape, approached one of the teens on the street and tried to pressure her to say he was innocent.
But she bravely ignored him and Sigiyo was further charged over the incident and found guilty of intimidation.
Sigiyo and Houphouet were found guilty of a number of offences including rape at court.
A third defendant, Jacek Brzozowski, now 35, was cleared of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.
He was previously admitted penetrative sexual activity with a child and will be sentenced on April 14.
The convictions are the latest in Operation Stovewood, which probes child sexual exploitation in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.
Senior Investigating Officer Kath Blain said: “This is one of the most harrowing cases I have investigated.
“Sigiyo and Houphouet lured two vulnerable girls to parties where they kept the children intoxicated so they could abuse them in the worst ways.
“Brzozwski contributed to their suffering, including by having sex with one of the girls who he knew was a child and vulnerable.
“The victims have shown extraordinary bravery in reporting their abuse. What happened to them can never be undone, but I hope the verdicts today will at least give them a sense that their abusers have been held to account and justice has been done.”
PAAbsolom Sigiyo was jailed for 18 years[/caption]
PAJacek Brzozowski admitted[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
