Victims of a child sex abuse ring have described feeling scared and vulnerable after their ordeals as five gang members were sentenced at the Old Bailey.

The men and teenagers, of Czech and Slovak Roma, and Kurdish backgrounds, raped and preyed on a total of five girls, including one with severe learning difficulties, in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, last year.

One victim was as young as 12.

The girls were forced to have sex with men for money, which was used to buy drugs and alcohol.

One of the victims, known only as girl D, said: “He controlled everything I did and I felt I could do nothing to stop him. I’ve lost my trust in men and don’t know what I would do if they tried to touch me.”

Girl E said: “I thought I love him and he made me feel special … then he became nasty towards me … I began to feel so low at that time I just wanted to go and jump in front of a car and die.”

One of the girls’ mothers also described how her once “bubbly” daughter had been transformed by the abuse.

Another victim, known as Girl A, said: “I felt upset and scared. The boys told me if I told police they would kill me and my family and I thought they would.

“I was worried people would laugh at me and wouldn’t be able to understand me because of how I speak and I was embarrassed about talking.

“After I left court it felt like a long time waiting and felt like nothing was happening. I thought the boys were going to get out and get me. I am still frightened they will kill me when they get out.”

Hassan Abdulla, 33, of Peterborough, was jailed for 20 years with a further five years under licence after he was convicted of four counts of rape and three counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

Zdeno Mirga, 18, known as “Skinny” and considered the ringleader of the gang, was sentenced to 16 and a half years in prison after he was convicted of eight counts of rape, four charges of sexual activity with a child and one count of inciting child prostitution.

Mirga’s offences related to two girls.

Renato Balog, 18, of Bretton, was jailed for 12 years after he was convicted of five rapes and three sexual assaults on three different girls.

Jan Kandrac, a 17-year-old from the Roma community, was jailed for five and a half years for rape and two counts of sexual touching.

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Roma gangs are using children to sneak through metal security bars on windows and plunder properties on one of Britain’s most exclusive streets.

Criminals have been accused of adopting Fagin-style tactics to target the wealthy residents of Bryanston Square in Marylebone, central London.

In one case, a child’s footprint was found on an inside window ledge. It seems the youngster was passed through narrow bars to prise open an unlocked sash window. Hundreds of pounds and a television were stolen.

Roma immigrants have also been seen rifling through bin bags for bank statements so they can sell credit and debit card information to identity thieves.

Thousands of Romanians and Bulgarians are expected to head here in the coming months, after border restrictions were lifted on January 1, sparking fears criminals may be among those seeking work.

Sharon Walvin, who manages 40 luxury apartments in Bryanston Square, said her offices were hit by a Fagin gang last year. She said: “We were puzzled as to how the thieves had come in and robbed the place as there was no damage at all.

“After the police had come round we noticed a small child’s footprint on the inside ledge under a front office window.

“What we think happened was the child had been lifted up and guided through the security bars and managed to lift up the window because it was unlocked.

“They dropped down into the office and opened the front door to let the adults in.

“The thieves stole a couple of hundred pounds in petty cash and lunch money and took a flat television off the wall.

“According to police it wasn’t the first robbery in the area but in my 23 years working here I have never seen anything like it. Now we have CCTV and locks on all the windows.”

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