Telford sex abuse ringleader's release 'should be stopped'

Mohammed Ali Sultan
-Credit:Reach Publishing Services Limited


A Telford sex abuse ringleader due to be released from prison should not be freed yet, the Justice Secretary has said. The Parole Board previously said that convicted sex offender Mohammed Ali Sultan can be released back into the community.

But Shabana Mahmood, also Lord Chancellor, wants his release reconsidered. One of his victims was not warned about last month's Parole Board hearing.

The Parole Board was also not given a statement it should have had from one of Sultan's victims. A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "Our thoughts remain with all the victims in this despicable case.

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"Public protection is our first priority. After careful consideration, the Lord Chancellor has asked the Parole Board to reconsider its decision to release Mohammed Ali Sultan from prison."

In 2012, Sultan admitted sexually abusing two girl and was jailed for seven years. In 2015, he was convicted of raping Kate (not her real name) and was handed a six-year jail term.

In 2019, he was jailed a third time along with three others for sexually abusing a vulnerable girl, Mirror reports. The victim was 'passed around like a piece of meat', forced to perform sex acts in a churchyard and raped above a shop.

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Sultan received an eight-year sentence at Birmingham Crown Court. A judge told him: "You’ve shown no remorse. You remain, clearly, a very dangerous man."

The trial was the result of a police operation after the Sunday Mirror revealed up to 1,000 girls had been abused in Telford over 40 years. Kate said she initially considered not appealing Sultan’s release for fear of angering him.

In the past, he had reportedly threatened to 'kick her head in'. But she said: "I’m not going to let intimidation or fear of retaliation stop me exercising my human right."

The Parole Board said approving Sultan, 38, for release had been 'undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care'. An official apologised to Kate for not having her personal statement.

The official said: "Your [statement] explains very poignantly the emotional and psychological impact that Sultan’s crimes has had on you, and it is deeply unfortunate this error has occurred."