Operation Stovewood: Men found guilty of raping girls at parties

Left to right: Absolom Sigiyo, Jacek Brzozwski, Romauld Stefan Houphouet.

Three men who organised parties at which they got children drunk and then abused them have been convicted of a series of sexual offences, following a National Crime Agency investigation.

Romauld Stefan Houphouet, 37, an Ivoirian national of Sheffield, and Absolom Sigiyo, 42, a Zimbabwean national of Rotherham were found guilty of raping two 15-year-old girls countless times between 2011 and 2012.

Sigiyo was also found guilty of intimidating one of the victims when he pressured her in an attempt to stop her supporting the NCA investigation launched in 2018.Jacek Brzozwski, 35, a Polish national of Rotherham, pleaded guilty to sexual activity with one of the girls.

The victims told investigators they were taken to numerous parties in Rotherham where they were given alcohol and abused by the men, some of whom openly referred to them as "fresh meat".

The abuse began within minutes of the victims' first encounter with Houphouet in 2011. Then aged 24, Houphouet, approached the girls in Rotherham town centre and invited them to a party. He asked to speak alone with one of the girls and took her into an alleyway, where he raped her.

After the attack, Houphouet took the girls to a house party at Sigiyo's home where there were a number of men, including Sigiyo and Brzozwski. The girls endured a year of sexual abuse in this location and at a second property Sigiyo later lived at.

The victims described having chaotic lives and living in a care home from which they wanted to escape. Both men took advantage of the girls' vulnerability, grooming and exploiting them. Sigiyo paid for taxis to his place and gave them cigarettes and alcohol. Once the girls had accepted these offerings, Sigiyo and Houphouet demanded the girls give them sex in return.

Sigiyo and Houphouet raped the girls multiple times. The second victim described being raped two to three times a week by Sigiyo, and on one occasion woke up to find him attempting to rape her.

Senior Investigating Officer Kath Blain said: "This is one of the most harrowing cases I have investigated. Sigiyo and Houphouet lured two vulnerable girls to parties where they kept the children intoxicated so they could abuse them in the worst ways."