Operation Stovewood: Two men who raped girl 25 years ago are jailed
Two men who raped a vulnerable girl in Rotherham 25 years ago have been jailed for a total of 15 and a half years today [22 December], following a National Crime Agency investigation.
Kessur Ajaib, 44, and Mohammed Makhmood, 43, both of Rotherham, were aged between 18 and 20 at the time of offending.
Ajaib and Makhmood raped the victim, aged around 14, over a period of more than two years, starting in 1999.
The girl was attacked by Ajaib while out in Rotherham. Ajaib made conversation with the girl and gave her alcohol, before luring her to an alleyway in a residential area where he raped her.
Ajaib was sentenced to eight years and six months in prison for the rape and a further three years, to run concurrently, for indecently assaulting the same girl.
Makhmood carried out his attack when he found the girl waiting at a bus stop one evening. He invited her to smoke a cigarette with him, then led her to a nearby graveyard where he raped her. Makhmood received a seven-year prison sentence for the offence.
Both men must sign the sex offenders register for life.
Specially trained officers from Operation Stovewood – the NCA’s investigation into allegations of sexual abuse in Rotherham, which commenced in 2014 – contacted the victim after identifying she may have been sexually abused as a child.
The woman told officers about what the men had done to her as a girl, and investigators subsequently identified corroborating evidence.
Officers arrested Ajaib and Makhmood and then charged them in February 2024. On 23 July 2025, both were found guilty of raping the girl, following a trial at Sheffield Crown Court in which a co-defendant was also convicted of raping a second girl.
NCA senior investigating officer Alan Hastings said:
“I would like to recognise how courageous the victim was in reporting the sexual abuse that Kessur Ajaib and Mohammed Makhmood subjected her to as a child.“It must have been extremely difficult for the woman to relive that period in her life, but the information she shared enabled us to identify corroborating evidence and secure justice for her.
“I hope it will bring the woman some closure to know that Ajaib and Makhmood are now in prison.
“I encourage victims to report child sexual abuse to police if they feel ready to do so. Specially trained officers are ready and waiting to help.”
Anyone who has experienced child sexual abuse can also find details of local support services at www.whenyouareready.com.
Liz Fell, Specialist Prosecutor for the CPS Organised Child Sexual Abuse Unit, said: "Ajaib, Hussain and Makhmood deliberately exploited the victims’ vulnerabilities, abusing them in the most appalling way and leaving a lasting impact on two women who they callously targeted and mistreated as children.
"These defendants have now been held accountable for their horrific crimes. I want to once again thank both women for their immense courage in coming forward and staying engaged throughout the legal process. Their determination and strength in seeing this case through has been crucial in bringing these offenders to justice.
“The CPS will continue to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to pursue perpetrators of child sexual abuse and secure justice for victims, no matter how many years have passed."
The NCA's Operation Stovewood remains the single biggest investigation of its kind, looking at allegations of abuse in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013. To date 49 people – including Ajaib and Makhmood – have been convicted and received custodial sentences totalling more than 1,500 years.
Ajaib and Makhmood’s co-defendant, Sageer Hussain, 40, of Rotherham, who is already serving a 19-year-jail sentence for raping a girl, was sentenced to a further three years in prison for raping a second girl, on 11 November at Sheffield Crown Court.
Hussain and the girl were both aged about 14 at the time. The girl used to see Hussain around Rotherham town centre. On an occasion between 2000 and 2002, Hussain led the girl down an alleyway, where he told her he would not let her back out unless she had sex with him. She refused but he raped her.
22 December 2025
