A takeaway worker who claimed asylum in Britain went on to groom 18 schoolgirls for sexual abuse.
Foot fetishist Homayon Narouzzad, 33, who had claimed he was fleeing persecution in Iran, targeted children as young as 12 when they came in to buy food.
Foot fetishist Homayon Narouzzad, 33, who had claimed he was fleeing persecution in Iran, targeted children as young as 12 when they came in to buy food.
Paying them as little as £5 to take part in sex acts centred around feet in his flat above the takeaway, the fitness fanatic afterwards gave them ‘star ratings’ when he stored their numbers in his mobile..
The case is the latest to highlight a trend of men frequently from Asian backgrounds systematically grooming predominantly white schoolgirls for abuse.
While the victims are often from ‘vulnerable’ backgrounds, the girls targeted by Narouzzad – who was jailed yesterday for four years – were mainly from stable homes.
Narouzzad arrived in Britain in 2000 and began working at the Family Guy takeaway in Whitefield, near Manchester, living in a flat above it.
The tattooed body-builder was a popular figure in the area, known by teenagers who flocked to the café as ‘Smiley’ for his happy demeanour..
He was finally granted leave to remain in Britain last year but by then he was already exploiting his friendly image to target girls for abuse.
In exchange for free food and cash, he would get the girls – many still dressed in their school uniforms – to let him kiss their feet or perform sex acts upon him.
They were paid from as little as £5 up to around £90 depending on the kind of abuse they would submit to.
Corrupting: Narouzzad was told by the judge that he had destroyed the innocence of his victims
One 13-year-old unwittingly acted as a ‘pimp’, recruiting friends who in some cases in turn brought along their younger sisters, creating a ring of girls aged between 12 and 15 subjected to regular sexual abuse.
Another girl came to his flat when she ‘wanted money to buy hair extensions’, the court heard.
The abuse went on for a year before one of the girls confided in her mother.
Police believe the girls did not initially regard what he was asking them to do as sexual abuse, but over time some became withdrawn and traumatised.
Narouzzad pleaded guilty to 25 offences of sexual activity with a child at Bolton Crown Court.
In a letter read to the court, he stated his ‘sincere apologies and remorse to the victims and families’.
But Judge Maureen Roddy told him he had left the girls with a nightmare to bear.
Afterwards detectives said the case showed how easily such systematic abuse could remain undiscovered.
Child exploitation experts say key warnings signs include girls having extra money to buy clothes or new mobiles, but in this case the victims themselves were careful not to arouse suspicion by displaying new purchases.
Last week a report by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre found a ‘disproportionate’ number of Asian men were behind ‘street grooming’ offences.
It found that out of 2,379 offenders suspected of attempting to lure vulnerable victims, often using drugs and alcohol, over the past three years, 28 per cent were Asian.
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