A 36-YEAR-OLD man was yesterday found guilty of five charges and not guilty of three allegations he sexually exploited teenage girls in Oxford.

Tilal Mahdi, of Friars Street, Hereford, denied committing sexual offences against three girls in a trial that began at Oxford Crown Court last month.

We can now reveal that he was arrested under Operation Bullfinch that led to seven men being sentenced to a total 95 years in June 2013 for sexual abuse of young girls.

The charges he was found guilty of relate to two girls between 1996 and 2008 in the Oxford area, and other cities.

One girl told the jury she was 14 when she met Mahdi and had sex with him and some of his friends when drunk.

In relation to her he was found guilty of a serious sexual assault, conspiracy to rape and conspiracy to indecently assault a woman under 16.

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In relation to a second victim he was found guilty of conspiracy to rape, trafficking and arranging or facilitating child prostitution.

He was found not guilty of two counts of rape and a further offence of serious sexual assault.

Mahdi will be sentenced on March 6.

After the case Senior Investigating Officer Det Ch Insp Mark Glover said Mahdi took advantage of young vulnerable girls for his own sexual purposes. He said: “He showed them attention.

“He plied them with alcohol and drugs, and made them feel special.

“They believed he cared for them.

They believed he loved them.

“But Mahdi was simply grooming these young girls.

“The young women in this case had incredible bravery in coming forward to tell police about the offences inflicted on them at a young age, and I want to thank them for that.”

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