Prison sentences in England

Men raped two 15-year-olds several times

Two men in England have been sentenced to long prison terms for raping two 15-year-olds several times. The two men are accused of repeatedly getting the girls, who were living in a children's home at the time, drunk and then raping them.

The whole thing went on for a year. The crimes took place in Rotherham in 2011 and 2012. On Monday, the 37 and 42-year-old perpetrators were sentenced to 20 and 18.5 years in prison respectively, according to the National Crime Agency. Another man with Polish citizenship, who is also alleged to have sexually abused the two girls, will receive his sentence next week.

Gangs exploited difficult social circumstances
The crimes are part of a long series of abuse cases in the northern English town. A special commission identified more than 1,100 children who were victims of gang sexual exploitation between 1997 and 2013. The children often came from difficult social backgrounds.

The perpetrators were predominantly from Pakistan, but the men now convicted come from Zimbabwe and the Ivory Coast. The cases had led to great criticism of the police and authorities. Operation Stovewood was set up to deal with them.