Nine men in court over historical child sexual exploitation offences
Nine men have appeared in a UK court facing 41 historical sexual offence charges involving eight child victims. The alleged abuse occurred in south Wales between 1985 and 1996, and the case has been transferred to the Crown Court.
Why it matters
This case highlights ongoing efforts by law enforcement to address historical child sexual exploitation through long-running investigations.
Image source, Athena Picture Agency Image caption, Row one L-R: Kevin Lawrence, Aminur Rahman Chowdhury, Shakeel Babur, Syed Mohammed Ashan Taqvi. Row two L-R: Mohammed Ramzan, Sheikh Mohammed Tahir Ullah, Murad Ali, Mohammed Sheikh Abdul Hannan. Shafaq Mohammed appeared in court via videolink.
Nine men have appeared in court charged with a total of 41 historical sexual offences, relating to eight victims who were children at the time.
The men, aged between 54 and 76, were arrested in Newport, Swansea, London, Birmingham, Lancashire, Edinburgh and the Argyll and Bute area of Scotland earlier in July.
Gwent Police initiated Operation Oak after several women reported the abuse, which took place in south Wales between 1985 and 1996.
Appearing at Newport Magistrates Court, the defendants were told most charges were so serious that the cases would be transferred to Crown court.
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