THREE men have been cleared of raping a 16-year-old girl after picking her up in a car on a Burnley street.

Mohammed Sikander, 25, of Colne Road, Amad Khan, 26, of Whalley Street, and Haiyat Khan, 20, of Thursby Square, all in Burnley, were acquitted of one count of rape and were discharged from the dock by Judge Jonathan Gibson.

But Mohammed Qasim, 25, of Berry Street, Brierfield, was found guilty of sexually attacking the ‘vulnerable’ teenager after a trial at Burnley Crown Court. He was jailed for four years and eight months yesterday after he was convicted by a jury about an hour earlier.

The defendant was also ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register indefinitely.

All four defendants had denied the allegations against them. The jury took 10 hours and 32 minutes to reach its verdicts and the three cleared men wept as they left court.

The court had been told how the four men were said to have forced the teenager to perform a sex act on them after they picked her up in the vehicle on a Burnley street, at 1am last September 29.

Sikander and the Khans were alleged to have raped the girl on a journey to Manchester while Qasim, the driver, raped her after he had dropped off his three co-defendants back in Burnley and the girl had got into the front seat.

When the men were arrested later by police, Sikander and the Khans told police the girl had been having fun and it had all been consensual. Qasim made no comment when questioned by officers.

James Heyworth, for Qasim, told the sentencing hearing he denied any non-consensual sexual contact with the teenager.

Mr Heyworth, who said Qasim had been on a curfew for 224 days, said: "The defendant knows that the starting point after a trial for this is five years in prison."

Sentencing, Judge Jonathan Gibson said he did not need to adjourn for pre-sentence reports and a dangerousness assessment.

He told Qasim: "This was a serious offence. All such offences are. I only had to hear the distress in the 999 call to understand something of the effect that this had upon the victim."

Speaking after sentencing, Jonathan Storer, Senior District Crown Prosecutor at CPS North West, said: “Mohammed Qasim has been found guilty of the rape of a vulnerable victim. She was subjected to a horrifying ordeal – he was well aware that he did not have her consent.

“The CPS has been determined for him to get justice for his abhorrent crime and he must now take full responsibility for his actions.

“We take all crimes of this nature extremely seriously and we would urge anyone who has been the victim of a rape or sexual assault to come forward and report it. We work closely with the police and the courts to ensure that victims are given the best possible support throughout the case.”