Seven men have been charged with child sexual exploitation offences by police investigating historical crimes in Rotherham.



South Yorkshire police said the offences were alleged to have taken place in the town between January and October 2003 and the charges arose out of Operation Clover, a partnership investigation by the force, Rotherham council and the Crown Prosecution Service.

A spokesman said four of the men had been charged with rape. These were: Asif Ali, 30, of Clough Road, Rotherham; Waleed Ali, 33, of Canklow Road, Rotherham; Ishtiaq Khaliq, 32, of Cherry Brook, Rotherham; and Masoued Malik, 31, of Bridgewater Way, Rotherham.

He said Waleed Ali had also been charged with indecent assault and Khaliq had been charged with a further two charges of indecent assault.

Malik has also been charged with conspiracy to indecently assault and conspiracy to falsely imprison.

The spokesman said Mohammed Whied, 31, of Psalters Lane, Sheffield, had been charged with two counts of aiding and abetting rape.

The spokesman said that two men who were already facing multiple charges relating to child sexual offences had also been charged with further offences.

He said Arshid Hussain, 40, and Basharat Hussain, 39, both from Goole, had each been charged with a further count of indecent assault.

The force said that in addition to the seven men charged, two further men had been reported on summons.

The spokesman said Sageer Hussain, 30, of Cottingham Street, Goole, had been reported on summons for four counts of rape and one count of indecent assault and Naeem Rafiq, 32, of Clarendon Road, Eastwood, had been reported on summons for conspiracy to indecently assault and conspiracy to falsely imprison.

All nine men will appear before Rotherham magistrates court on 16 November. Six of those charged were bailed pending their court appearance. Basharat Hussain is already in custody.