Grooming gang ringleader jailed for 12 more years

The ringleader of a grooming gang in Telford has been sentenced to another 12 years in jail after admitting further charges.

Mubarek Ali was jailed 12 years ago for his part in a paedophile ring uncovered in the town as part of Operation Chalice.

Last month he pleaded guilty to rape, trafficking and other offences against a young girl between 2004 and 2008.

He was told he would serve 12 years in prison for the latest charges, and an additional eight on extended licence.

Operation Chalice came six years before an independent inquiry was set up to investigate the scale of child sexual exploitation in Telford going back to the 1980s.

Ali was automatically released in 2017 after completing half his sentence, but recalled to prison nine months later for breaching the terms of his licence.

That meant the extra years he would have spent on licence were added to his custodial sentence, taking it to 2032.

He then applied unsuccessfully for release in 2022, when the parole board ruled he remained a risk to the public.

The latest jail term runs concurrently to the time he has remaining to serve.

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