LONDON—Thirty men and one woman have been charged with sexually exploiting five girls under the age of 18 over a seven-year period in northern England.
Nineteen of the suspects were named by police along with charges of rape, trafficking, and sexual exploitation.
The alleged victims were between the ages of 12 and 18 when the offenses are said to have occurred from 2005 to 2012 in the town of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire.
Twelve men cannot be named for legal reasons, but are also charged with numerous offenses in connection with the same investigation.
The woman, Fehreen Rafiq, 38, is charged with two counts of facilitating the commission of a child sex offence.
The 30 men and one woman are due to appear in court on Sep. 5 and 6.
There have been a number of cases of child sexual abuse in the UK perpetrated by mainly British-Pakistani men, the most prominent in Rotherham, northern England.
It was estimated that 1,400 children, most of them white girls, were sexually abused in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013, despite police and local lawmakers being made aware of the abuse.
Children were groomed, trafficked, and raped across the UK, but offenders were not prosecuted reportedly owing to fears around race.
In Halifax, which is about 5 miles away from Huddersfield, it was estimated that as many as 100 men of British-Asian origin could have been involved in child abuse between 2006 and 2011.
In 2016, 18 men were convicted for rape, trafficking, and sexual activity with children, and in Jan. 2018 a further 20 men were arrested for their involvement in the Halifax gang.
Investigators warned in 2017 that grooming gangs are still operating across the UK.
Chief constable Steve Ashman of Northumbria Police told The Independent, “I think there’s every likelihood that this is happening in every town and city across the country.”
The defendants in the Huddersfield case are:
- Banaras Hussain aged 37, of Shipley, is charged with one count of rape of a female over 16.
- Banaris Hussain, aged 35, of Huddersfield, is charged with one count of rape of a girl aged 13 – 15.
- Mohammed Suhail Arif, aged 30, of Huddersfield, is charged with rape of girl aged 13-15.
- Iftikar Ali, aged 37, of Huddersfield, is charged with attempted rape of girl aged 13-15 and three counts of rape of a girl aged 13-15.
- Mohammed Sajjad, aged 31, of Huddersfield, is charged with four counts of rape of a female age 13-15, one rape of a girl under 13 and facilitating the commission of a child sex offence.
- Fehreen Rafiq, aged 38, of Huddersfield, she is charged with two counts of facilitating the commission of a child sex offence.
- Umar Zaman, aged 30, of Huddersfield, is charged with two counts of rape of a female aged 13-15.
- Basharat Hussain, aged 31, of Huddersfield, is charged with two counts of rape of a female aged 13-15.
- Amin Ali Choli, aged 36, of Huddersfield, is charged with two counts of rape of a female over 16-years-old.
- Shaqeel Hussain, aged 35, of Dewsbury, is charged with rape of a female aged 13-15 and two counts of trafficking.
- Mubasher Hussain, aged 35, of Huddersfield, is charged with rape of a female aged 13-15 and sexual assault.
- Abdul Majid, aged 34, of Huddersfield, is charged with two counts of rape of female aged 13-15.
- Mohammed Dogar, aged 35, of Huddersfield, is charged with two counts of facilitating the commission of child sex offence.
- Usman Ali, aged 32, of Huddersfield, is charged with two counts of rape of a female aged 13-15.
- Mohammed Waqas Anwar, aged 29, of Huddersfield, is charged with five counts of rape of a female aged 13-15.
- Gul Riaz, aged 42, of Huddersfield, is charged with rape of a female aged 13-15.
- Mohammed Akram, aged 41, of Huddersfield, is charged with two counts of trafficking with a view to sexual exploitation of a female and rape of a female aged 14-15.
- Manzoor Akhtar, aged 29, of Huddersfield, is charged with trafficking and three counts of rape of a female aged 13-15.
- Samuel Fikru, aged 30, of Camden, has been charged with two counts of rape of female aged 13-15.
From The Epoch Times
