TWO brothers who targeted vulnerable teenage girls in Bury in order to sexually abuse them have been jailed.

Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court heard how Muhammad Hussain, of South Cross Street, Bury, raped a 14-year-old girl in 2016 when he was aged 16.

The father of one, who is now aged 20 and married, videoed himself engaging in sexual activity with the same teenager and another girl on a separate occasion in 2017. He also sexually assaulted a third girl, who was also 14 at the time.

On two separate occasions, his brother Hashim Hussain, 24, of South Cross Street, Bury, took a video of himself sexually abusing young girls while being cheered on by other men.

Muhammad Hussain was sentenced to six years and two months in a young offender's institution after he was convicted of two counts of rape, one count of sexual assault and one count of taking an indecent image of children. His elder brother was sentenced to four years in prison after he was found guilty of taking indecent photos/images of children and possessing indecent photos of children.

The court heard how the brothers groomed vulnerable young girls in a Bury park, plying them with vodka so that they felt obliged to engage in sexual acts.

The victims gave detailed evidence to police of the abuse they had been subjected to. Further evidence to support their accounts came from detailed analysis of images on the defendants’ mobile phones, which showed the abusers’ clothing, footwear and jewellery.

Jo Lazzari, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "Muhammad and Hashim Hussain treated these young girls as objects for their own sexual gratification. They exploited their vulnerability without any thought to the devastating impact of the abuse on the girls’ lives.

"I would like to thank these very brave young women for supporting the prosecutions and trusting us with their experiences. They described feeling ashamed, but it is the defendants who should now feel the shame of being convicted and jailed as predatory sex offenders.

"I would say to anyone abused in this way please come forward and tell the police what happened to you. You will be listened to and your allegations taken seriously. Victims should not feel they are at fault when they are preyed on by offenders."

Detective Inspector Ian Partington, senior investigating officer, said: ‘’This has been an immensely thorough investigation in order to bring Muhammad and Hashim Hussain to account for their despicable and sickening crimes, and it is a great relief that they are now to spend time behind bars.

"Our investigation team have worked tirelessly to secure today's outcomes, but this would not have been possible had it not been for the courage and resilience of the victims to speak to police and pursue with the trial and to relive that abuse. Everyone in the team pays tribute to their unwavering bravery.

"I know that they believe the journey of the last three years in getting this case successfully through the courts has been worth it, and I join them in hoping that anyone else out there who's a victim of abuse - whether it's in Bury, Greater Manchester, or elsewhere in the country - to come forward and speak to police knowing that information will be treat with the strictest confidence.

"If there are other victims out there who now feel the time is right to come forward, then we are ready and determined to get justice for you, too.

"I would like to thank the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and Bury council for their support in being able to secure these convictions and help rid our town of two remorseless sex offenders and put them where they belong.’’