Three brothers have been sentenced to a combined 40 years in prison for sexually abusing five women who were children when the crimes took place, as survivors told Sheffield Crown Court that the abuse had left them serving “a lifelong sentence” they never agreed to.
Amar Ilyas, 41, was sentenced in his absence to 27 years in prison for 20 sexual offences against five women, including rape. He fled to Pakistan while on court bail and failed to appear for his trial in September 2025. National Crime Agency officers are now carrying out enquiries to locate and arrest him. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is urged to contact the NCA or report anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
His brothers Kamran Ilyas, 38, and Kamar Ilyas, 39, both of Sheffield, were sentenced to three and ten years in prison respectively for offences against one of the women, who was also raped by Amar Ilyas. All three brothers abused her between 2004 and 2008, beginning when she was just 12 years old, when the men were around 17 and 18 years old.
In a statement read to the court, that woman, now in her 30s, said: “The three defendants exploited my vulnerability and stole my childhood. What they did to me didn’t end when the abuse stopped — it has shaped every year of my life since. This hasn’t been a chapter I could close; it has been a lifelong sentence that I never agreed to serve. I am asking the court to understand the full weight of the damage they caused — damage I carry in my mind, my body, my relationships, and my future.”
Three further women also gave statements about the abuse carried out by Amar Ilyas. One, who was around 13 when he raped her while she slept at a friend’s house, addressed him directly: “No matter how many years you may serve in prison, this will never leave me. But what I can say is that no matter how much I suffered, I always get back on my feet. I have had to find the strength to fight and face my fears; something you didn’t have the courage to do yourself. I am finally taking back control because I’ve seen you for what you are — a bully, a coward, and I will never let someone like you or what happened to me define who I am.”
A third woman, who was also around 13 when she was groomed with alcohol and drugs before being raped on two separate occasions at her home, said: “I hope that now I can start to try and rebuild my life and show that I am stronger than you, better than you, kinder than you and have higher moral standards than you. I am a survivor. You are a coward who can’t face the consequences of your own wrongdoing.”
A fourth woman, who was around 18 or 19 when Amar Ilyas raped her in an alleyway after seeing her alone in Sheffield, said: “You made me suffer for so many years. You took advantage of me when I was vulnerable. I look back and think, how dare you do what you did to me. You have ruined a big part of my life but you will never win, I won’t let you. I have built a life for myself and even though I will always have to live with what happened I will not let it beat me.” A fifth woman’s statement was read privately by the judge.
All three men were arrested in June 2020 by officers from Operation Stovewood, the NCA’s investigation into child sexual abuse in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.
NCA Senior Investigating Officer Alan Hastings said: “The court heard loud and clear from the women how the Ilyas brothers inflicted devastating suffering upon them, suffering which affects them to this day. In each of the women’s words, their bravery, strength and determination to survive shone through.”
Martin McRobb, Specialist Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, paid tribute to the survivors. “Their determination and strength in seeing this case through has been crucial to bringing these offenders to justice,” he said, adding that the CPS would “continue to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to pursue perpetrators of child sexual abuse and secure justice for victims, no matter how many years have passed.”
If you have been affected by the issues raised in this article, support is available through the NSPCC helpline.
