Three predatory men have been found guilty of raping vulnerable young girls in Plymouth.

Plymouth Crown Court heard how the older men deliberately targeted the four teenage girls, debilitating them with drink or drugs at house parties for the purpose of serious sexual assault.

The abuse came to light after another girl came forward and gave key evidence to police having watched the BBC drama Three Girls which depicted the high-profile CSE investigation in Rochdale.

She reported a series of parties in Plymouth in 2017 where girls had been given alcohol and money to buy drugs, before being groomed and sexually assaulted by the men present.

Devon & Cornwall Police launched Operation Garcia in 2017, a complex and lengthy child sexual exploitation investigation which resulted in a total of four men being charged.

On August 20 at Plymouth Crown Court, three were convicted of rape while a fourth man was found not guilty of sexual assault.

Abalzaq Salih, 31, from Plymouth, was convicted of two counts of rape of a female aged 15 or under, while 32-year-old Saif Kahya from Liverpool was found guilty of one count of rape of a female aged 16 or over.

Anthony Anantharajah, aged 35, from London, was convicted of one count of rape of a female aged 16 or over. He was found not guilty of engaging in non-penetrative sexual activity with a girl aged 15 or under.

A fourth man, 45-year-old Moussa Ahmadou, from Plymouth, was found not guilty of sexual assault on a female.

All of the men denied the charges but the trio were convicted following a five-week trial. They were remanded in custody and are due to be sentenced in September.

The court heard that the victims were abused at three house parties held at the defendants’ addresses during 2017.

Prosecutor Dan Pawson-Pounds said the defendants were in their 20s or 30s at the time and their victims were aged between 14 and 16, creating a “power imbalance.”

He said: “These events had one thing in common – they were designed by these defendants and others to exploit vulnerable young girls; to get them away from whatever family structures they had, give them money, drink and drugs, and then to sexually assault them when their defences were down.

“These girls voluntarily entered the world created for them by these men. A world of parties in houses or locations chosen by the men. A world where they were made to feel grown up and given things they wanted. But a world in which they could be abused.

“And abused in a way which these defendants hoped meant that the girls could never tell anyone in authority about. Whether through guilt for being there in the first place, fear, or an inability to remember what had happened to them as a result of the drink and drugs.”

The court heard that in February 2017 Anantharajah targeted a 16-year-old girl at one of the infamous house parties. After being intentionally plied with alcohol she texted friends to say she was at a party with older men and wanted to leave as she felt vulnerable.

The girl eventually fell asleep on Anantharajah’s bed but woke up to find him raping her. She managed to get away from the house but was found crying uncontrollably and hyperventilating in the street by a member of the public who called 999. Anantharajah was arrested a few minutes later but flatly denied any sexual contact with the teenager.

Just over three months later, a number of girls were invited to a house party at Salih’s shared home and plied with drink and drugs.

Salih targeted the second victim, who was aged under 15, waiting until she fell asleep through intoxication before attacking her. She woke up petrified to find him raping her.

In December 2017, Salih attended a party at Kahya’s home where teenagers were again invited and given alcohol. Three of the girls slept on a makeshift bed on the lounge floor, two of them passed out intoxicated with the third victim taking care of them.

The victim, aged under 15, awoke to find Salih trying to pick up one of her friends and take her out of the room. When she confronted him he turned on her instead, forcing himself on her before raping her on the floor while her friends remained unaware.

The fourth victim, a 16-year-old girl, was at the same party and raped by Kahya in his bedroom. As part of the police investigation, she provided a witness statement in March 2021. In January 2022 she found the courage to admit she had been the victim of rape.

The men were initially arrested between February 2017 and July 2018. All the men initially denied having any sexual contact with any of the victims instead claiming the girls were all lying to police about what had happened.

The convictions are the culmination of a protracted and complex investigation under Operation Garcia run by a dedicated team of detectives within Plymouth CID.

When police were alerted in the summer of 2017 few of the victims and witnesses were prepared to engage due to their own vulnerabilities and lack of trust of all authorities. Officers persisted with their enquiries.

Between 2018 and 2019 further victims began to engage with detectives and provided crucial evidence. In 2022 the final victim engaged fully and reported she had been raped in 2017.

Detectives faced an unprecedented amount of third-party evidential material due to the number of victims and witnesses. They meticulously pieced together victim interviews, numerous witness accounts and specialist analysis of evidence from phones and digital devices to create a detailed and corroborated timeline of events.

Due to the complexity and sheer volume of material, it was deemed that the charging decision should be considered by the newly-formed Crown Prosecution Service’s Organised Child and Sexual Abuse Unit which specialises in child sexual exploitation.

Throughout the investigation each victim received continuous and co-ordinated support through bespoke safeguarding and care plans run by police, Plymouth City Council’s social care team and the charity Barnardo’s.

Plymouth Commander, Temporary Chief Superintendent Scott Bradley, said: “I want to start by praising the bravery of the survivors in this case. Without their evidence and courage, we would not have been able to achieve this outcome.

“Devon & Cornwall Police is committed to tackling violence against women and girls and targeting those who seek to prey on the vulnerable. The guilty verdicts are a culmination of years of hard work by a committed and professional team of officers and staff.

“I am grateful for the collective partnership work across the city that has allowed us to support the survivors in this case and I hope to some degree that today’s outcome will start to bring about some closure on this traumatic journey for each of them.

“Our message to other survivors of sexual abuse is that we are here to listen, to work with you, to support you, and to achieve justice.”

If you have been affected by this article there is support available:

You can visit victimcare-dc.org to access support services and information on your rights and how to navigate the criminal justice system. You can also call Victim Support on 08 08 16 89 111 or Devon and Cornwall Police’s Victim Care Unit on 01392 475900

Advice and support can also be found at:

Devon and Cornwall Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARC) 0300 3034626