Coventry men forced girl, 14 into prostitution Published duration 16 November 2017

image copyright West Midlands Police image caption (L-R) Jake Cairns, Brandon Sharples and Jack McInally forced the girl to have sex with 20 "clients"

Three men who forced a girl into prostitution and "plied her with drugs" have been found guilty of child sexual exploitation offences.

Jake Cairns, Brandon Sharples and Jack McInally advertised the 14-year-old on an escort site claiming she was 18.

Cairns took explicit photos of the girl, and West Midlands Police believe she was made to have sex with about 20 "clients".

The men, all from Coventry, will be sentenced in January.

The teenager was held at an address in Coventry for five days and a missing person enquiry was launched when she disappeared from a relative's home on 8 June 2015.

Police said when they rescued the girl she was found dressed only in her underwear and trying to climb out of a first floor window.

The force arrested Cairns, 21, of Cheveral Avenue, Sharples, 20, of Wyley Road, both in Radford, and McInally, 21, of no fixed address, on suspicion of child abduction.

'Shocking exploitation'

A jury at Warwick Crown Court found the men guilty on Tuesday of facilitating the sexual exploitation of a child. They were remanded in custody.

Cairns was additionally found guilty of arranging child sexual exploitation and taking and distributing indecent images of a child.

DNA discovered by police on a duvet in a room where she was held was shown to have come from five different sources, including Cairns.

Det Con Jon Barker said: "These three men were involved with the shocking exploitation of a young girl. They... made money out of forcing her to have sex with strangers.

"Cairns initially denied knowing the girl but later changed his story after he was identified during an ID procedure."