Huddersfield child sex abuse trial: 30 people to be tried over alleged sexual exploitation, judge rules

Alleged offences include rape, sexual assault and trafficking

Defendants appeared at Leeds Crown Court (PA)

Thirty people will go on trial charged with offences relating to the alleged sexual exploitation of children in Huddersfield, a judge has ruled.

Twenty five of the defendants appeared at Leeds Crown Court on Friday. The men have been charged with a total of 78 offences, including rape, sexual assault and trafficking.

The alleged offences date back to a period between 2005 and 2012, and relate to five female complainants then aged between 12 and 18.

Judge Simon Phillips QC said all the cases will be dealt with across three separate trials beginning in September 2019. The final trial will not begin until April 2020.

Eighteen of those who appeared in court on Friday were out on bail, with seven others in custody. A further five defendants who are custody did not appear, but were represented in court.

Only 20 of the 30 defendants can be named because of reporting restrictions.

Iftikar Ali, 37, of Huddersfield, is charged with three rapes and one attempted rape.

Umar Zaman, 30, of Huddersfield, is charged with two rapes.

Basharat Hussain, 31, of Huddersfield, is charged with two rapes.

Banaras Hussain, 37, of Shipley, is charged with one rape.

Mubasher Hussain, 35, of Huddersfield, is charged with one rape and one sexual assault.

Abdul Majid, 34, of Huddersfield, is charged with two rapes.

Gul Riaz, 42, of Huddersfield, is charged with one rape.

Fehreen Rafiq, 38, of Huddersfield, is charged with two counts of facilitating the commission of a child sex offence.

Mohammed Sajjad, 31, of Huddersfield, is charged with five counts of rape and one count of facilitating the commission of a child sex offence.

Usman Ali, 32, of Huddersfield, is charged with two counts of rape.

Mohammed Suhail Arif, 30, of Huddersfield, is charged with one rape.

Amin Ali Choli, 36, of Huddersfield, is charged with two rapes.

Mohammed Dogar, 35, of Huddersfield, is charged with two counts of trafficking.

Banaris Hussain, 35, of Huddersfield, is charged with one rape.

Shaqeel Hussain, 35, of Dewsbury, is charged with one rape and two counts of trafficking.

Mohammed Waqas Anwar, 28, of Huddersfield, is charged with five rapes.

Saqib Raheel, 32, of Cradley Health, is charged with two rapes.

Manzoor Akhtar, 29, of Huddersfield, is accused of three rapes and trafficking.

Samuel Fikru, 30, of Camden, is charged with two rapes.

Mohammed Akram, 41, of Huddersfield, is charged with a rape and two counts of trafficking.

The 10 men who cannot be named are charged with a range of offences, including rape and trafficking, as part of the same West Yorkshire Police investigation into child sexual exploitation.

Additional reporting by agencies