Labour candidate and youth worker among three brothers jailed for grooming abuse crimes

A Labour candidate and youth worker is among three brothers convicted of grooming gang offences in Sheffield, sentenced today after victims spoke of the devastation the men had caused.

Amar, Kamar and Kamran Ilyas had been convicted of child sex abuse offences against five victims.

Known as “Killer” to his victims, Amar Ilyas used a gun and threats of gang rape to coerce young girls into abuse.

Amar was meant to be jailed today alongside his younger brothers Kamran and Kamar, but he absconded before his trial last year.

TRENDING

Stories

Videos

Your Say

He remains in Pakistan, where he has claimed to be receiving medical treatment and unable to return to Britain.

Today, Mr Justice Hampton said that Amar was “deliberately avoiding these proceedings for no other reason than cowardice”.

Amar was found guilty of 20 offences against five victims. The judge described Amar as a determined and predatory offender as he sentenced him to 27 years plus one year on an extended licence.

The judge sentenced him consecutively for one “particularly brutal” rape, which he said demanded the punishment.

He was said to have “humiliated” one victim in front of her friends after a rape. Another victim, who Amar knew had learning difficulties, was secluded and threatened with having to perform a sex act on all of the men if she did not comply. “She must have been terrified,” said the judge.

Amar was also found guilty of raping a 13-year-old girl when she was asleep at a friend’s house. “She already knew you and your reputation, she feared you,” said Mr Justice Hampton.

Another one of Amar’s victims was procured for him by his brother Kamran.

Sheffield Crown Court heard that Amar had “already determined what was to happen to her” when he drove her out to the countryside.

The girl was told that his nickname was ‘killer’ before biting the girl and, despite her crying, continued to rape her.

Amar told the girl that she could not complain because she was Asian and that she would be disgraced due to her culture. “These comments have been proven to be incorrect,” said the judge.

His brothers were found guilty of five sexual offences against one of the girls, who was just 12 years old when Kamar met her.

Kamar was found guilty of rape of a child under 13 and sexual activity with a child when he was 17 to 20. He was jailed for 10 years, which he must serve two-thirds of until he is considered for parole.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:

• Huge fire rips through industrial site near Liverpool with billowing plume of smoke seen for miles
• Met Office issues rare red weather warning as parts of Britain set to see near-record breaking heat
• Toddler, 3, in stable condition after being 'thrown' into crocodile enclosure

The court heard that Kamar’s 12-year-old victim was particularly vulnerable. Kamar introduced the girl to Amar, “no doubt so that he could exploit [her] too”.

His brother Kamran was convicted of sexual activity with a child in 2004 when he was 17. He was jailed today for three years and must serve half his sentence behind bars.

Kamran also attacked the same young girl as his brothers, who he “humiliated … by commenting on her body.”

GB News can reveal today that after his grooming gang offending, Amar Ilyas became a Labour Party candidate and a youth worker.

He ran unsuccessfully for Labour in the City ward for Sheffield City Council in the 2016 elections.

In 2019, Ilyas, working as a taxi driver, was stabbed in the head by drug dealer Bassan Khan, who was later jailed for the attack.

The stabbing was part of a spate of violence that erupted in Sheffield, which included a shotgun being fired at the home of a local politician.

Ilyas was supported by activists from the Corbyn-backing Momentum group after the stabbing, who described him as a wonderful comrade in a fundraiser.

The taxi driver was working as an anti-knife crime campaigner for the charity Mums United.

There is no suggestion whatsoever that Mums United was aware of or involved in any of Amar’s crimes.

He was a director at the charity until 2020, the same year he was arrested by the National Crime Agency for his sex abuse crimes.

GB News can also disclose that after identifying his role as a youth worker, the officers from the NCA made a safeguarding referral to the local authority as a precautionary measure.

Victim impact statements were heard in the court, as one victim said: “Unlike the attitude that has shown towards me, this is not about causing pain. This is about truth, accountability and justice.”

She continued: “Today marks the point at which I stop carrying the burden of silence and self-doubt.

“I’m taking back control of my life, my voice and my future. I will be heard and I will not be dismissed.”

Another victim, in statements delivered by a barrister, said that Amar had been driving by her house “in a sadistic way” ahead of the trial.

“I felt angry that the person who put me through this was able to walk around,” she said, adding “I know you just couldn't face up to what you had done. The fact I struggled but you get to walk around free is ludicrous.”

She said “thank you” to Amar for “trying to intimidate me and my family” and for “walking around with a smug look on your face”.

“All of this strengthened my resolve to keep going.”

Closing proceedings, the judge referred to the first victim impact statement: “She and the other four have been heard and they have been believed.”

Kamar and Kamran were sent down to the cells but Amar remains a wanted man.

Mr Justice Hampton praised the bravery of the victims for giving evidence during the trial, adding that it was “a direct contrast to the defendants in attempting to avoid this case being tried.”

The judge said that Amar Ilyas had “taken the coward’s route and fled,” adding that every effort must be made to locate him and bring him to justice.

“When he is brought here, I will deal with him.”

Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter