The 50^th person to be convicted under the National Crime Agency’s largest ever sexual abuse investigation has been sentenced to 28 years in prison for raping a child and a young woman in the 2000s.

The crimes of Riyasth Hussain, 45, of Rotherham, were identified by specialist officers from Operation Stovewood – the NCA’s investigation into child sexual abuse in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.

Hussain twice raped a girl of around 13 years of age in the 2000s, for which he was sentenced to eight years’ and 12 years’ imprisonment, to run consecutively.

In an impact statement read at court, the victim – now in her 30s – told Hussain: “When you met me, I was just a fragile, vulnerable little girl who you could easily abuse. Today, I am a woman with a voice, and my only goal is to seek justice. It was over 20 years ago when you started to rape me. Eleven years ago I started my fight for justice, today I got that!”

In her statement she thanked the NCA, Independent Sexual Violence Advisors Service and “the courts and the jury for listening and believing me.”

Operation Stovewood officers contacted the woman after identifying she may have been a victim of child sexual abuse. The woman confirmed that she had been raped by a man who she knew by the nickname ‘Riaz’ but whose real name was Riyasth. Investigators subsequently identified this man as Hussain.

The woman first met Hussain between 2004 and 2006, during an incident in which she was being verbally abused by a man on a street in Rotherham. Hussain – then aged around 24 – had pulled up in a car and offered to help the girl.

At a later date Hussain again stopped his car beside the girl on a street, and the victim agreed to get into the vehicle. Hussain then drove to an empty industrial estate, where he pulled the girl out of the car and raped her.

Hussain abused the girl a second time after driving her to a field – where he raped her inside his car.

The woman gave officers a description of the man, who she also recalled had connections to a local taxi firm, and the officers began carrying out enquiries to identify him.

Meanwhile, as part of a separate enquiry, Stovewood investigators also spoke to a second woman who reported being raped by a man in 2008 when she was in her 20s.

While staying at a friend’s home one night, a man that she did not know entered her room and raped her.

The woman was able to recall a small number of details about her attacker, including his physical appearance and the car he had driven to and from the house in.

Officers working from this limited information were nonetheless able to gather corroborating evidence and identify that the perpetrator was also Hussain.

Hussain was sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment for this offence, to run concurrently to his other sentences – meaning he will serve a total of 20 years in prison.

In her victim impact statement, the woman described the long-lasting effect of Hussain’s attack on her. She said: “My thoughts freeze whenever I think of his name. I try not to think of him at all, but that never happens, he comes into my mind every day, this is out of my control. I can’t concentrate on my day or my thoughts and I am constantly distracted with the living nightmare of what he did to me. My mind takes me back to when he was controlling me and the horrible things he did to me. I feel so scared, even now.”

Hussain was arrested by Operation Stovewood officers in 2019. Earlier this week, on 17 February, Hussain was found guilty of raping both victims, following a trial at Sheffield Crown Court. He was sentenced at the same court.

Following the sentencing, NCA Senior Investigating Officer Alan Hastings said: “Today, two survivors described with humbling eloquence and dignity the great suffering that they have experienced every day since Riyasth Hussain raped them.

“Despite the profoundly traumatic impact of Hussain’s crimes, both women remained determined to support the investigation. It is thanks to the victims’ evidence and the extensive work of our specialist Operation Stovewood investigators to corroborate that evidence, that Hussain has at last faced justice.

“I want all victims of child sexual abuse to know that, when they are ready, there are support services and specially trained officers ready and waiting to help them.”

A directory of support services is available on the When You Are Ready website. Sexual violence can be reported to police by calling 101.

Liz Fell, Specialist Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Riyasth Hussain preyed on two extremely vulnerable victims and exploited them for his own sexual gratification.

“One of his victims was only 13 to 14-years-old during this offending. She was living in the care system and had been groomed and sexually exploited by many other men, when Hussain targeted her. Hussain took her in his car to secluded locations to rape her on two separate occasions. His other victim he raped in front of a group of others causing extreme distress.

“The cruelty and abuse the victims suffered at the hands of Hussain was horrific causing a lasting impact on their lives today.

“It has been extremely difficult for both victims to come forward and give evidence but they have done so with tremendous courage allowing us to bring this offender to justice.

“I hope these convictions send a clear message that the CPS, working closely alongside law enforcement, will relentlessly pursue justice and prosecute those who sexually exploit children and adults, whenever that abuse took place.

“All children and women have the right to feel safe. I encourage anyone who has been in a similar position to come forward to report these incidents to the police. It is never too late to seek justice – you are not alone and there is help available.”

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 50 people – including Hussain – have been convicted and received custodial sentences totalling more than 1,500 years.