Five men who were part of a gang that raped and sexually assaulted girls they met in a park have been jailed with sentences ranging from 18 months to 14 years.
Newcastle Crown Court, UK, heard how the four Romanian men and one Albanian targeted vulnerable girls in Saltwell Park, Gateshead, between 2015 and 2019.
One of the six victims was a 14-year-old girl who became addicted to cocaine given to her by the men.
Called Girl B, to protect her identity, she said: "I don't know if I'll ever live a normal life. I'm anxious all the time, especially if I'm alone."
She added that she felt overwhelmed and cried often.
The gang of men were found guilty of the offences in a trial in October, it writes. BBC.
Codrin Dura, 27, was sentenced to 13 years in prison for two counts of rape, three counts of sexual activity with a child, attempted rape, blackmail and sexual assault, all in relation to a girl known as Girl A to protect her identity.
Dura was also found guilty of two counts of raping a second girl, Girl B, and was convicted of organizing the commission of a child sex crime and supplying Class A drugs.
Leanoard Paun, 24, was sentenced to five years and one month in prison for sexual activity with a child and one count of rape in relation to Girl B, two counts of organising to commit a sexual offence with a child, distributing an indecent image of a child and supplying Class A drugs.
Bogdan Gugiuman, 44, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for three rape charges relating to Girl B and was convicted of supplying Class A drugs.
The judge said he showed "no expression of remorse" for what he did to the girl, who was 14 at the time.
Albanian national Klaudio Aleksiu, 28, was sentenced to six years in prison for one count of raping Girl B and supplying Class A drugs. He was 21 and 22 years old at the time of the offences.
Stefan Ciuraru, 23, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for four counts of sexual assault against girls B, C and D, sexual activity with a child, girl E, and inciting a child, girl F, to engage in sexual activity.
The judge said the defendants' nationalities were “irrelevant to the sentencing process” and the age of most of them at the time of the crimes imposed “a significant limitation on the sentences that could be imposed.” /Telegraph/
