Amar Ilyas, a key figure in the Sheffield grooming case, has been jailed for 27 years, with the sentence handed down in his absence as proceedings in the case were closed. The conclusion marks the end of a major trial, but it comes with a glaring gap, because the man at the centre of it was nowhere to be found in court to hear his punishment.
Ilyas was found guilty of raping vulnerable girls as young as 12, offences that have placed him among the most serious of child abusers to face the courts in the case. The details of his crimes underline why his sentencing has drawn such close attention, and why his continued absence has provoked so much anger.
Adding to the public concern is his past public profile. Ilyas was a former Labour Party candidate, a detail that has sharpened scrutiny of how a man who went on to be convicted of such grave offences once stood for elected office, and how he was able to move through positions of visibility before justice caught up with him.
Crucially, Ilyas fled to Pakistan before he was found guilty, leaving him to be convicted and then sentenced entirely in his absence. That flight is now at the centre of the story, raising the difficult question of how British authorities can bring him back to serve the term that has been imposed on him while he remains beyond their immediate reach.
The judge in the case, Peter Hampton, made clear that the door is not closed. Speaking of Ilyas, he said that when he is brought here, he will deal with him, signalling that the 27 year sentence is waiting to be enforced. A warrant is out for Ilyas's arrest, and he is understood to be in Pakistan.
To help track him down, the National Crime Agency has opened an appeal, asking anyone with information about the wanted child abuser to come forward. Officials have indicated that if he is captured and returned to Britain by the authorities, he will face two thirds of his 27 year sentence behind bars, ensuring that his flight does not erase the consequences of his crimes.