Description
A man who sexually abused a vulnerable child at a party 13 years ago has been sentenced, following a National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation.
Jacek Brzozowski, 35, a Polish national of Rotherham, had sex with the 15-year-old girl during one of a number of parties held at his home at which she and her friend were raped by other men.
Brzozowski was today [21 May] sentenced to 21 months in prison, suspended for two years, at Sheffield Crown Court. He has also been placed on the Sexual Offenders Register for 10 years.
Romauld Stefan Houphouet, 37, an Ivoirian national of Sheffield, and Absolom Sigiyo, 42, a Zimbabwean national of Rotherham were previously sentenced to more than 38 years in total for rape and other offences against the girls, at Sheffield Crown Court on 3 March.
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”.
At one of the parties Brzozowski, then aged 22, took one of the girls up to a bedroom, where he had sex with her.Houphouet, who had raped the girl previously, found them together and became angry. He told Brzozowski to leave, and then raped the girl again in an act of revenge.
Specially trained officers from Operation Stovewood – the NCA’s investigation into historic allegations of sexual abuse in Rotherham – contacted the women, who are both now in their 20s, after identifying they were potentially victims. The women subsequently told officers about the abuse.
Senior Investigating Officer Kath Blain said: “Jacek Brzozowski lived in a house where two girls were repeatedly plied with alcohol and subjected to horrific sexual assaults at parties. He could have helped them but instead he took advantage of the situation for his own sexual gratification.“Our investigation, supported by the victim’s testimony, has ensured that Brzozowski has been held to account for his crime.
“There is no situation in which having sex with a child is legal, so I urge anyone who was sexually abused as a child – no matter how long ago, or if they believed at the time that it was consensual – to report it to police.”Sexual abuse can be reported to police in person or by calling 101. Police officers specially trained to investigate such cases are ready and waiting to help victims.
The NCA's Operation Stovewood remains the single biggest investigation of its kind, looking at allegations of abuse in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013. To date 42 people – including Brzozowski – have been convicted