Key facts
- Bawan Harwe, an asylum seeker, has been sentenced to 29 years in prison.
- Harwe groomed and sexually abused seven girls aged between 12 and 16.
- He used a fake name on social media to gain the trust of his victims.
- Harwe was convicted of multiple charges including rape, sexual grooming, false imprisonment, and facilitating exploitation.
- His accomplice, Sharam Muhamadi, is wanted by police after failing to attend his sentencing.
An asylum seeker named Bawan Harwe has been sentenced to 29 years in prison for grooming, trafficking, and sexually abusing seven girls, who were between 12 and 16 years old. Harwe, who worked in a convenience store, used a fake name on social media to build trust with his victims, offering them money and e-cigarettes before committing the offenses. The court heard that he also plied the girls with drink and drugs.
Sentencing Harwe at Sheffield Crown Court, Judge Sarah Wright described the harm he caused as being of "unimaginable proportions," stating that the victims' childhoods could never be reclaimed. Harwe was found guilty of eight counts of rape, two counts of meeting a child following sexual grooming, two counts of false imprisonment, and six counts of arranging and facilitating travel of another person with a view of exploitation. He had also previously pleaded guilty to one count of rape of a child under 13, three counts of making indecent images of children, and one count of possessing extreme pornography.
Harwe's accomplice, Sharam Muhamadi, from Iran, was found guilty of two counts of arranging or facilitating travel of another person with a view of exploitation. Muhamadi failed to attend his sentencing hearing, and a warrant has been issued for his arrest. He had been granted bail with a surety of £19,000 provided by Amin Haydar, which Judge Wright has ordered to be forfeited. South Yorkshire Police are conducting a manhunt to locate Muhamadi.