Convicted sex offender jailed two more years for assaulting teenage girl

A sex offender who assaulted a teenage girl after stealing her phone from her has been jailed for two more years.

The CPS prosecuted Ishtiaq Khaliq, 40, after an investigation by officers from the National Crime Agency’s Operation Stovewood, which is looking into allegations of non-familial child sexual abuse and exploitation which took place in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, between 1997 and 2013.

Khaliq, formerly of Rotherham, previously pleaded guilty to one count of indecent assault and one count of theft. He was sentenced today at Sheffield Crown Court to two years imprisonment. This is to run consecutively with a sentence he is currently serving.

Between July 2000 and July 2002, Khaliq met the victim, who was aged 13 or 14 at the time, in the stairwell of a block of flats before stealing her phone from her.

He told the victim she had to perform a sexual act to have it returned to her. She stated she did not want to do this. Khaliq did not return her phone after the assault.

The defendant is already serving a 17-year prison sentence having been convicted in 2016 of other child sexual abuse offences.

Liz Fell, Specialist Prosecutor for the CPS said: “Ishtiaq Khaliq stole a child’s phone to coerce her into performing a sexual act for his own gratification.

“This incident has had a profound and long-lasting impact on the victim who I commend for coming forward to report what happened to her. It is because of her evidence that we were able to bring Khaliq to justice.

“I hope this prosecution sends a clear message that the CPS, working alongside the NCA, will continue to relentlessly pursue justice and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, whenever that abuse took place.”

Last year, to deal with the more complex and challenging child sexual abuse cases, the CPS established its dedicated Organised Child Sexual Abuse Unit to share specialist understanding, build strong cases and increase the amount of successful prosecutions.

NCA Operations Manager Stuart Cobb said: “Khaliq was a serial sex offender who intimidated his victims. I pay tribute to all those who have had the courage to come forward and tell us what he did to them.

“Supporting victims remains our number one priority, and we remain determined to seek justice for as many as possible.”

To date, The CPS has successfully prosecuted 26 cases investigated under Operation Stovewood.

We remain determined to seek justice for as many victims as possible. We will continue to work with the NCA on existing Stovewood cases and will begin to work closely with South Yorkshire Police to provide advice on any new cases they bring forward from 1 January 2024 under this operation.