Gang rape leader: Ibraheem Giwa

A teenage gang leader who raped a “vulnerable and lonely” 11-year-old girl during a series of horrific sex attacks has been jailed for five years.

Ibraheem “Ibby” Giwa, 15 and his accomplices took turns to assault the girl a dozen times over several months at various locations in Newham, including in his bedroom.

A second teenager, a 16- year-old who cannot be named for legal reasons, was jailed for 12 months for raping the girl in a McDonald’s toilet.

A third 15-year-old was cleared of rape.

Motivated by “a mixture of bullying and possibly gang bravado,” said the prosecution, the group attacked the girl on three separate occasions.

They were all members of the Say No More (SNM) gang associated with the Custom House area.

Giwa was just 13 when he carried out the first rape in a park with another boy, Inner London Crown Court heard. He led a second attack at his home, involving a queue of up to eight thugs.

On the final occasion in March 2010 the girl was cornered by three boys in the McDonalds lavatory in East Ham, where the 16 year-old raped her.

Passing sentence, Judge Patricia Lees said to the pair: “She was but 11-years-old when you both had sexual intercourse with her – she herself was not yet mature enough to realise the full effects upon her and certainly wasn’t mature enough to realise whether she wanted to have sex with you.

“In my judgement she was vulnerable and lonely when these offences were committed, which is why she was an easy target.

“You both realised she was likely not to refuse because of her submissive nature, ignoring the way it would inevitably affect her.

“At the very least, you chose to ignore that for your own selfish gratification.”

The judge added their victim “remains genuinely frightened of reprisals” for having reported their vile attacks.

Turning to Giwa, she added: “You have elements of your character which are troubling. It is clear to me that you are still associating with others in gang culture, and so you remain a risk of committing other offences.”

The girl, now 13, watched on from the side of the court as they were sentenced.

Giwa of Wolsey Avenue, East Ham, was convicted of two rapes.

He claimed he was playing football at the time but jurors rejected his story.

The 16-year-old had earlier admitted rape.

Gareth Hughes, defending Giwa told the court he had been addressing his links with gangs while on bail.

“He has been meeting with former gang member for the last two to three months,” he said.

“In fact that has been done through the local police and he has been totally committed.”