91Èȱ¬

A female relative of one of nine men jailed for his role in the Rochdale child sex ring has told of her family's humiliation at his crime.

Mariyam - not her real name - said the conviction of her relative Adil Kahn was "really, really shameful for us".

"At the moment we just want to put our heads down whenever somebody is talking about the case," she said.

The nine men, aged between 24 and 59, were jailed for a total of 77 years last week for child sex offences.

Khan, 42, of Oswald Street, Rochdale, was jailed for eight years for conspiracy to have sex with a child and child trafficking for sex.

Mariyam said: "People know that he is related and when they say, 'We know he is related to you but we've got to say this,' I reply, 'Just say what you want,' because at the end of the day, he is behind them bars and he got what he deserved."

She added that the men should have been given harsher sentences to make future offenders think twice.

"It makes me sick when I think about it, they're going out and they are doing that. Most of them have probably got daughters the same age as those girls.

"How can they walk out of their own houses knowing the fact that they have probably got daughters - some of them older than those girls and some younger - how can you walk out of your own door and do that to anybody's daughter?"

She added: "For them, it doesn't matter what colour they are, whatever culture or whatever country they come from, they don't care as long as they just get it.

"I feel so sick even thinking about it, I don't know what to say I just feel, really, really ashamed."

The men were jailed for rape and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child.

Liverpool Crown Court heard the group plied five victims with drink and drugs and "passed them around" for sex.