Five men who were part of an Eastern European grooming gang, targeting teenage girls in Gateshead, have been jailed.

During an eight-week trial at Newcastle Crown Court, the four Romanians and an Albanian were found guilty of 31 charges involving six victims between 2014 and 2019 in October.

The girls, aged between 13 and 15, were sometimes plied with alcohol or cocaine before they were sexually abused and raped.

The court heard the victims were targeted by teenage boys, just a few years older than them, with the girls sometimes thinking they were in a relationship, before older men exploited them.

The gang were jailed on Friday for between 18 months and 14 years.

The court heard some of the offending centred around Saltwell Park where the men would meet to play football.

During sentencing remarks, Judge Tim Gittins paid tribute to all the victims’ courage and resilience by coming forward.

‘Nothing less than haunting’

He described a statement from one of the victims, who was sexually exploited after becoming addicted to cocaine, as “nothing less than haunting” after the men “deeply traumatised her and psychologically scarred her”.

She said she was “petrified of all men”. She added: “I don’t know if I will ever lead a normal life.”

Another victim said in a statement: “I was naive and impressionable, and it made it easy for me to be preyed upon.”

The court also heard another victim describe the control her attacker had on her.

Read More: Judge ‘haunted’ by attack on victim as Eastern European grooming gang is jailed