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Eight men charged in historical child sex gang inquiry

Nicholas Bourne

BBC Wales

2 hours ago

Eight men have been charged with 34 offences as part of an investigation into historical child sexual exploitation.

Police arrested the men from locations in Newport, Swansea, London, Birmingham, Lancashire, Edinburgh and the Argyll and Bute area of Scotland.

Operation Oak involved a “complex and long-running investigation into group-based child sexual exploitation in south Wales”, said Det Ch Supt Andrew Tuck from Gwent Police.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it had authorised charges, including 17 counts of rape.

The inquiry focuses on allegations made by several women of sexual abuse committed against them as children between 1985 and 1996.

Jenny Hopkins, chief crown prosecutor for Wales, said prosecutors had “worked to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring the case to court and that it is in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings”.

“We remind all concerned that criminal proceedings against these defendants are active and that they have the right to a fair trial.”

The men, aged 54 to 73, are all British citizens and are due to appear before Newport Magistrates’ Court on 24 July.

They are:

Shafaq Mohammed, 58, of Birmingham, charged with a total of 11 offences; four counts of rape of a female under 16, three counts of rape of a female aged 16 years or over, two counts of aiding and abetting the rape of a female under 16, causing the prostitution of a girl under 16, causing the prostitution of a woman
Syed Mohammad Ashan Taqvi, 65, of Newport, charged with three counts of rape of a female under 16
Mohammed Sheikh Abdul Hannan, 54, of Edinburgh, charged with eight offences; two counts of rape of a female aged 16 years or over, one count of indecent assault on a woman over 16 years of age, three counts of aiding and abetting the rape of a female under 16 years of age or over and two counts of conspiring to rape a woman aged 16 years or over
Kevin Lawrence, 54, of Dunoon, charged with three offences; two counts of conspiring to rape a woman aged 16 years or over and causing the prostitution of a woman
Sheikh Mohammed Tahir Ullah, 73, of Newport, charged with one count of rape of a female aged 16 years or over and one count of rape of a female under 16
Aminur Rahman Chowdhury, 58, of Tottenham, charged with one count of rape of a female aged 16 years or over
Shakeel Babur, 58, of Lancashire, charged with four counts of indecent assault on a girl under the age of 16
Murad Ali, 57, of Swansea, charged with two counts of rape of a female under 16.