Three Indian-origin men in UK jailed for raping kin

The three persons sentenced by the Cardiff Crown Court are the 27-year-old victim's step-father, step-uncle and brother-in-law. The step-uncle and step-father are illegal immigrants, and will deported at the end of their sentences.

The 55-year-old step-uncle, and 50-year-old step-father were jailed with minimum recommended terms of 20 and 15 years respectively, while her 27-year-old brother-in-law was jailed for 12 years.

The step-uncle admitted before the court that he was the father of the child conceived when the victim was 14 years old. He was convicted of seven counts of rape, three of indecency with a child, and one of indecent assault.

During the hearing, the court was told that the victim's ordeal began at the age of five when she was raped by her step-uncle. She became pregnant at 14, but was locked in a wardrobe so that visitors would not see her condition.

Prosecuting lawyer Marion Lewis told: "The girl was already seven months pregnant when she first saw a doctor about her condition. When the baby was born, the girl's parents told friends and neighbours it was their own, before flying their daughter to India for an arranged marriage."

Judge Patrick Curran told the step-uncle: "Not content with your own sexual abuse on her, you encouraged the others to treat her like an unpaid and unwilling prostitute. You all then involved yourselves in a group rape on her."

The judge said the continued presence of the two older men in the UK was "detrimental to public interest." The prosecuting lawyer said the girl was frightened and also believed her mother knew what was going on.

"When aged 14 and still a pupil at school, her stomach was expanding and a scan revealed she was seven months pregnant," Lewis said.

"Her mother beat her all over her body apart from the face with a curtain pole. She was hidden, sometimes in a wardrobe and visitors were told she'd gone back to India."
The victim later told the jury that her mother beat her when it was found out that she was seven months pregnant. She said her mother had not believed her when she had tried to tell her that she was pregnant by a member of her own family.

"When she went to the doctors, checked me out, she realised I was seven months pregnant, she still didn't believe me. She hit me with a rod and stuff like that so she never believed me".

"She always said to me 'they can't do that to you, they're your family, they can't do it' but unfortunately they did," the victim said.

The step-uncle admitted in court he was the father of her child, but told the jury he had not found out until much later once DNA tests were carried out.

After the sentence was pronounced yesterday, detective inspector Chris Mullane of South Wales Police said the victim had been "extremely courageous" in approaching the police.