31 charged in child sex abuse inquiry

THIRTY- ONE people including a woman have been charged with child sex grooming offences including rape and human trafficking.

Details of the charges were revealed yesterday by West Yorkshire Police and involve criminals allegedly operating around Huddersfield.

The offences relate to five young girls and teenagers and were allegedly carried out between 2005 and 2012, when the complainants were 12 to 18 years-old. Among them is Mohammed Waqas Anwar, 29, who is charged with five counts of rape of a female, while Manzoor Akhtar, 29, is charged with trafficking and three counts of rape of a teenage girl. The one female defendant, Fehreen Rafiq, 38, also of Huddersfield, is charged with two counts of facilitating the commission of a child sex offence.

Twelve other men, who cannot be named for legal reasons, have also been charged with numerous offences as part of the same investigation. The group will appear at Kirklees Magistrates’ Court on September 5 and 6.

Two other men were arrested in connection with child sexual exploitation in Bury, allegations unconnected to the Huddersfield inquiry.

The men, aged 21 and 24, also accused of possessing indecent images, remained in custody for questioning.