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A suspected grooming gang trial in the UK has been halted after jury members’ involvement with a WhatsApp group raised concerns, according to The Telegraph. The case, which involves allegations of raping and sexually abusing two teenage girls in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, between 2003 and 2006, was being tried at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court.
The proceedings, involving six defendants, started in October but paused about two months later when one juror disclosed that multiple jurors had discussed a TV show about grooming gangs within a private WhatsApp chat. Judge Matthew Corbett-Jones ordered a review of all messages exchanged in the group during an investigation.
It was revealed that in one chat, a juror warned others not to watch the program. Despite this, another juror responded, “I’m going to watch it anyway,” with a smiley emoji, and a second juror indicated they intended to watch it as well. All jurors were later questioned, and they claimed none had watched the show. Defense attorneys raised doubts about their honesty and requested further questioning, but the judge declined.
The judge expressed regret over halting the trial, citing unresolved issues and doubts that couldn’t be adequately addressed. He emphasized that the complexities and layered problems meant no suitable solution remained, leading to the decision to postpone the trial to August.
Restrictions on reporting the jury’s discharge reasons were lifted after an application by the Manchester Evening News. The accused—Tahir Rashid (54), Mohammed Saleem (46), Iftaq Hussain (45), and Sucklane Shah (46)—denied all rape charges. Arshad Mohammed (55) also denied rape and assault by penetration, while Amjad Mahmood (53) faced multiple allegations, including rape, indecent assault, and assault by penetration. Rashid also denied a separate late-1980s rape charge.
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