East European grooming gang members jailed for raping teenage girls in Gateshead
Five East European members of a grooming gang who preyed on girls in the Gateshead area have been jailed.
Northumbria Police launched an inquiry into offending against six girls who were aged between 13 and 16 when they were plied with drink and drugs before they were sexually abused.
The victims were targeted by older teenagers and groomed to believe they were in genuine relationships before being exploited by older men.
Some of the offending, which happened between 2014 and 2019, centred around Saltwell Park, where the men would meet to play football.
The investigation led to the convictions of four Romanians and an Albanian following an eight-week trial at Newcastle Crown Court in October:
Bogdan Gugiuman, 44, of Westbourne Avenue, Gateshead, was found guilty of three counts of rape and supplying a class A drug. He was jailed for 14 years.
Codrin Dura, 27, of Ripon Street, Gateshead, was found guilty of four counts of rape, four counts of sexual activity with a child, blackmail, attempted rape, serious sexual assault, supplying a class A drug and arranging or facilitating commission of a child sex offence. He was jailed for 13 years.
Albanian Klaudio Aleksiu, 28, of Church Terrace, Windsor, was found guilty of rape. He was jailed for six years.
Leonard Paun, 23, of Windsor Avenue, Gateshead, was found guilty of five counts of rape, two counts of arranging or facilitating commission of a child sex offence, sexual activity with a child, sexual assault, supplying a Class A drug and distributing photos of a child. He was jailed for five years and one month.
Stefan Ciuraru, 22, of Brinkburn Avenue, Gateshead, was found guilty of four counts of sexual assault, sexual activity with a child and causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. He was jailed for 18 months.
In a statement read to the court, one victim said: "I was naive and impressionable, and it made it easy for me to be preyed upon."
The victim, who became addicted to cocaine, said in her statement: "This whole experience has massively changed my view of men for life.
"I am petrified of all men.
"There are so many things that trigger my pain, I don't know if I will ever lead a normal life."
Judge Tim Gittins said the victim impact statement from one of the victims, who was sexually exploited after becoming addicted to cocaine, was "nothing less than haunting".
Addressing the defendants, he said: "You all to a greater or lesser extent have deeply traumatised her and psychologically scarred her."
The judge paid tribute to all the victims' courage, their resilience in seeing it through the court system and their dignity.
He added: "It is not for me to say but I hope they come to see themselves, as I do, as survivors and not just as victims."
The judge also praised the police investigation, noting there had been previous criticism "of the response in the past by authorities to cases such as this and their victims".
He commended Northumbria Police's care for the victims in this case.
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