A GANG of 12 men who raped and took "terrible and heartless sexual advantage" of a vulnerable Keighley schoolgirl before "casting her aside" have been locked up for a total of 140 years.

Ten of the men were jailed after being convicted of raping the girl in the town when she was aged between 13 and 14. Another man was found guilty of sexual activity with the same girl.

The 12th man pleaded guilty to rape and sexual activity with a child.

A trial last year heard how the teenager was repeatedly raped by the men in encounters arranged by a violent drug dealer over a period of 13 months between 2011 and 2012.

The drug dealer, described as the "evil mastermind" of the group, Arif Choudhury, is thought to have fled to Bangladesh. Choudhury, now 18 and formerly of Victoria Avenue, Keighley, was accused by the girl of raping her in the grounds of a Keighley church when she was 13 after she refused to sell anymore drugs for him.

On one occasion, the girl was gang-raped by five of the defendants.

The Recorder of Bradford Judge Roger Thomas said the men had been “heartless and demeaning” when the girl, who was 13 and 14 at the time, “clearly demanded pity and understanding.”

“They saw her as a pathetic figure who had no worth and who served no other purpose than to be an object that they could sexually misuse and cast aside,” he added.

“They showed her no shred of decency or humanity when as a vulnerable child she so needed care and understanding.”

The judge said the defendants had “largely tried to hide behind their silence” when interviewed by the police and given the opportunity to speak in court, but added, there were “nevertheless some good indications of their real attitude”.

“Listing a few of those references is insightful. They show the same contemptuous and disrespectful attitude to the girl that most of them have demonstrated to this Court throughout the trial and which I have already commented upon,” Judge Thomas said.

When the trial finished, in December, the judge described the behaviour of some defendants in court as some of the worst he had seen in his 40-year career.

Today, he added to those comments.

“As I have said previously the attitudes that the majority of you have so clearly demonstrated to these proceedings has been contemptuous, disrespectful and arrogant on a scale that I have hardly seen before in many years of practice in the Criminal Law. Exactly the same as your attitude to the 13/14 year-old-girl who you all sexually abused and exploited for your own selfish gratification," he said.

“I cannot, and will not, sentence you now for your appalling attitude to these proceedings but it is something that is very informative in my assessment of you as individuals and your offending for which I am sentencing you.”

The judge said he had read pre-sentence and other reports about the defendants and commented on the intelligence of two of the men, Israr Ali and Sufyan Ziarab.

“Although they have produced very low scores in formal IQ testing it is nevertheless entirely apparent from the circumstances of these offences, their demeanour in court, their interviews with the police, their previous convictions and in their use of social media that they are far from being anything other than totally understanding of and responsible for their reprehensible sexual misconduct in this case,” the judge said.

Four of the men abused the girl in the underground car park of a disused police station in Keighley.

The four men were two pairs of brothers and neighbours who lived very near to the old building where they would hang out and smoke cannabis extensively.

"Although Tauqueer Hussain was employed and held down a job, their lifestyles were generally feckless and unattractive,” Judge Thomas said.

The girl was often forced to perform sex on the men and one time was there for several hours.

“More than one defendant would have her perform sex immediately after another had just done the same,” said the judge.

“There are many highly unpleasant details that [the victim] does give about what happened to her in the car park which reflect the degradation, humiliation and violence that she was subjected to.”

Yasser Kabir, 25, of Belgrave Road, Keighley, was found guilty of three counts of rape and was jailed for 15 years for each count, to run concurrently.

Kabir was also sentenced for raping and abusing two little girls when he was a boy. He was given five years for those offences, to run consecutively to the 15-year sentence, meaning he will serve 20 years.

Kabir’s half-brother, Tauqeer Hussain, also known as Toki, 23, of Belgrave Road, Keighley, was also found guilty of two counts of rape, relating to two victims. He was jailed for 13 years for each count in relation to the Keighley schoolgirl, to run concurrently, with five years added for his second victim, meaning he will serve 18 years.

Sufyan Ziarab (Sufy) 23, of Kendal Mellor Court, Keighley, was given two concurrent 15 year sentences for two counts of rape.

His brother, Bilal Ziarab, (Billy or Browny) 21, of Sedgwick Close, Manningham, Bradford, was given two concurrent 12-year sentences.

Five of the men were found guilty of lining the girl up to rape her in Dalton Lane, Keighley.

The judge said this was an example of the “the vile practice of Arif arranging and facilitating the gang rape of the girl by having you men "line up to take turns” with the girl.

Nazir Khan (Khany) 24, of Buxton Street, Keighley, was jailed for 13 years for one count of rape.

His brother, Faisal Khan, (Buller) 27, of Buxton Street, Keighley, will also serve 13 years for one rape count.

Hussain Sardar (Dolly) 19, of Bradford Street, Lawkholme, Keighley, will serve six years detention in a young offenders’ institution for one count of rape. Judge Thomas said the sentence reflected his then age of 15 years and the victim’s description of his “somewhat pathetic participation.”

Saqib Younis (Saqi Butcher) 29, of Bradford Street, Lawkholme, Keighley, was jailed for 13 years for one count of rape.

Zain Ali (Droopy) 20, of Buxton Street, Keighley, was given an eight-year detention sentence in a young offenders’ institution, to reflect his age of 16 and 17 at the time of the offences.

Israr Ali, the youngest defendant in the dock, raped the schoolgirl when he was 15 years old, about 18 months older than the girl. He was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in a young offenders’ institute.

Ali, also known as Sari, now 19, of Devonshire Street West, Keighley, was told he took “vile sexual advantage” of the girl and looked upon her as “no more than a worthless object.”

Mohammed Akram, a 63-year-old cab driver, of Holker Street, Keighley, was convicted of sexual activity with the girl once in his cab when he was 59 and she 14.

The judge jailed Akram for five years.

The 12th man to be jailed, Khalid Raja Mahmood, is already behind bars for raping another victim.

He pleaded guilty at the start of the trial to twice raping the teenager and three offences of sexual activity with a child.

The 34-year-old, then of Gordon Street, Keighley, was given extended sentences of imprisonment, concurrent on each rape count, of 17 years. He was told that extended sentence comprised of a custodial term of 13-and-a-half years and an extended licence period of three-and-a-half years.

After the case, Detective Chief Inspector Nicola Bryar, of the Homicide and Major Enquiry Team, said: "We are pleased that these men have now been sentenced for their terrible crimes against vulnerable young girls.

"We would like again to praise the victims for their courage in coming forward and enabling these men to be put before the courts. We hope that today's sentences will give them some closure and help them with rebuilding their lives.

"Child Sexual Exploitation remains a priority for West Yorkshire Police. It totally unacceptable and it is the responsibility of all agencies, communities and individuals to identify those responsible and bring them to justice.

"West Yorkshire Police, the West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner and partner agencies are committed to doing everything they possibly can to ensure that children are safe, cared for and protected from harm. We are committed to working closely with these partners and will take positive action against those who abuse or neglect children.

"We hope that this case will encourage others who may have been victims of child sexual exploitation, whether recently or in the past, to come forward and report it to the police, who will always seek to take positive action against the perpetrators."

Speaking after the case, the MP for Keighley and Ilkley Kris Hopkins said: "In November 2012, I made a speech in the House of Commons expressing my horror at the fact that there were gangs of Asian men going around Keighley raping white girls. "I was castigated from many quarters, received many abusive pieces of correspondence and on one occasion was forced to clear my constituency office after receiving a threat.

"This case, the many guilty verdicts reached and the heavy sentences rightly handed down underline the nature and the truth of the evil I spoke about back then and will continue to raise until it has been eradicated.

"I am very well aware that there are numerous white paedophiles out there and they should be dealt with just as harshly. But the sick model of organised groups of Asian men grooming young white girls to be sexually abused remains a blight at the heart of many communities across this country. And sadly Keighley is at the top of the list. "I want to congratulate all of the police officers who played a part in bringing these guilty men to justice. It can often be a harrowing task to collect the necessary evidence to secure convictions and, once again, West Yorkshire Police has done an outstanding job.

"I hope that the force’s dedication and professionalism will encourage other victims to come forward and help put other perpetrators behind bars. I am very happy to provide all necessary support through my office to facilitate this.

"I continue to work very closely with senior police officers and ministers, including the Home Secretary Theresa May, to see what more can be done to uncover child grooming rings and track down those involved. We have already achieved a number of improvements to national law and I am confident that further positive changes will be made.

"But I must end with a plea. Whilst the police, the Government and I as the local MP will continue to join forces to tackle these issues, we need the support of the entire community behind us. "I love Keighley, it’s the town I grew up in and I’m privileged to be its Member of Parliament. But Keighley’s proud name has been dragged through the mud too many times in recent years because of the heinous acts of sick men preying on vulnerable young girls.

"I appeal directly to members of the local community that if you know of any individual or groups of individuals who may be involved in these activities, you have an obligation to pass this information on. We must work together to rid ourselves of this cancer, and we all have a part to play."

The leader of Bradford Council David Green said: "Child sexual exploitation is a dreadful crime which all right minded people deplore and we are pleased this is reflected in the sentencing of these men. We also acknowledge the courage and commitment of the young women in giving their evidence which led to these convictions. "We are determined, working closely with the police, to ensure all perpetrators of child sexual exploitation are pursued and prosecuted, no matter when the abuse took place.” "We have invested additional resources in recent years to tackle child sexual exploitation and keep children safe. Our multi-agency hub, which has been operating since January 2012, involving the Police, Council, NHS and voluntary organisations across Bradford District, means we can make sure risks are identified and there is fast and effective intervention. Share article "We need help from the community as a whole, from parents and carers, to take responsibility for vulnerable young people and help from neighbours to give us third party information if they suspect that CSE has or is taking place, or that children are at risk. This is an issue for everybody. It goes right into the heart of every community. "If anyone has any concerns about the safety of a child or a young person in Bradford District they should contact West Yorkshire Police, Crimestoppers (0800 555 111) or Children’s Services Initial Contact Point on 01274 437500 or NSPCC Child Protection helpline on 0808 800 5000.”