Derby men jailed after paying children for sex
Eight men who preyed on "vulnerable" underage teenage girls for sex have been jailed for up to seven years.
The men, who acted independently of each other, targeted girls in Derby from care homes or difficult backgrounds.
The teenagers were offered cash, drugs and alcohol to have sex with the men.
Five men were found guilty of paying for the sexual services of a child at Derby Crown Court in July and three others admitted the same charge.
The case centred on girls aged between 14 and 17.
Mark Adoui, 40, from Derby, was sentenced to seven years in prison for paying for the sexual services of a child.
Stefan Godfrey, 44, from Pinxton, Ijaz Ahmed, 35, from Derby, and Anthony Lambert, 51, from Derby, were jailed for six years also for paying for the sexual services of a child.
John Shaw, 55, from Kniveton, Colin Simpson, 55, from Cresswell, David Shardlow, 56, from Derby, and Ian Yoeman, 60, from Derby, will all serve four years for the same charge.
Judge Gosling said to the men: "None of you enticed these girls into prostitution, but you nurtured them.
"You were superficially kind to them for your own purposes, to satisfy your middle aged desire to have sex with girls who were plainly not of age, you were prepared to pay a paltry sum."
The two-year investigation which preceded the convictions started when Derbyshire Police grew concerned for the safety of teenage girls seen on the city's streets.
The court heard some of the girls had been picked up off streets in Derby while others had become involved through friends.
Gifts offered to the girls included cannabis, cuddly toys, vodka and takeaway food.