A British court has sentenced a man to 27 years in prison in absentia for the horrific sexual abuse of multiple underage girls in Sheffield. The convicted man is 41-year-old Omar Ilyas. A report by The Telegraph states that Ilyas fled to Pakistan to evade justice. According to the court, Ilyas—known as “Killer”—brutally abused several teenage girls, including a 12-year-old, in Sheffield nearly two decades ago. During the trial, it was revealed that he used weapons, threatened gang rape, and resorted to physical violence to intimidate his victims.

The investigation also uncovered an incident where he bit one of the victims. Last Monday, Judge Peter Hampton described the accused as a coward, noting that Ilyas had fled the country while on bail. Praising the courage of the five victims, the court stated that the conviction was secured based on their testimony. One victim told the court that the accused had ruined her childhood and that the scars of that trauma have persisted throughout her life.

Two of Ilyas’s brothers—Kamar Ilyas (39) and Kamran Ilyas (38)—were also convicted in the case. Kamar Ilyas was sentenced to 10 years in prison, while Kamran Ilyas received a three-year sentence. According to the charges, the prime accused, Omar Ilyas, committed these offenses between the ages of 19 and 22; the crimes included the rape of children under 13, sexual abuse, and intimidation. The court has called for the immediate arrest and extradition of Ilyas to Britain.