Experts claim the statistics represent a mere fraction of a 'tidal wave' of offending in counties across the Midlands and the north of England which has been going on for more than a decade.
Detective Chief Inspector Alan Edwards said: 'These girls are being passed around and used as meat.
'No one wants to stand up and say that Pakistani guys in some parts of the country are recruiting young white girls and passing them around their relatives for sex, but we need to stop being worried about the racial complication.'
In a briefing paper, researchers at University College London's Jill Dando Institute of Security and Crime Science concurred that victims were typically white girls while 'most central offenders are Pakistani'.
....the relationship quickly becomes more sinister as the abuser plies the child with drink and drugs before effectively pimping her out to friends and associates.
Three of the 56 were white, 53 were Asian. Of those, 50 were Muslim and a majority were members of the British Pakistani community.
Those convicted allegedly represent only a small proportion of what one detective called a ‘tidal wave’ of offending in Yorkshire, Lancashire, Greater Manchester and the Midlands.
The presiding judge Peter Kelson QC, told the men they were ‘sexual predators’, adding: ‘You had what you regarded as your fun. Now you will take your punishment.
'All five of you were convicted of sexual activity with a child. The clue is in the title: a child.’
.......a privately-educated schoolgirl who was forced into sex slavery aged 14 after being picked up by a gang in Rochdale, greater Manchester.
HE ASIAN SEX GANGS WHO PREYED ON VULNERABLE YOUNG GIRLS
NOVEMBER 1997: LEEDS TAXI DRIVERS
Mohammed Naim Rashid, 21, was jailed for seven years and Abid Hussain Sadique, 21, for four by Leeds Crown Court in November 1997.
There were 20 victims, some as young as 12, who had been groomed for sex by a ring of private-hire drivers. They were abused in a room above the taxi office.
AUGUST 2007: BLACKBURN VICTIMS PASSED ROUND ABUSERS' FAMILIES
A police inquiry into grooming of girls as young as 12 eventually led to the conviction of Zulfqar Hussain, 46, and Qaiser Naveed, 32.
They targeted two 14-year-olds in the care of social services, plying them with drink an drugs before having sex with them in a BMW and a flat.
The victims were also offered to brothers, uncles and friends for sex.
Both were jailed for five years and eight months on charges including abduction, sexual activity with a child and supplying drugs.
FEBRUARY 2010: ROCHDALE VICTIM, 16, RAPED BY THREE MEN WHILE FOURTH TOOK PICTURES
Ajmal Afridi, 19, Imitiaz Syed, 20, Tayub Hussain, 19, Mustafa Arshad, 17, and Mohammed Usman Raja, 20, were all jailed for their part in the assault.
The girl was given whisky and possibly sleeping tablets before being raped by Afridi, Syed and Hussain while Arshad took pictures.
She was later found wandering the streets.
More than 100 police officers were involved in Operation Retriever, which identified 27 victims, 22 of whom were white.
Siddique and Liaqat targeted their victims on the streets of Derby while driving in a BMW.
They then exchanged number, invited them to parties and fed them drugs and alcohol before handing them to older men for sex.
The abuse, which took place in bushes, cars and houses was filmed for the men to share.
