Police officer among 16 charged with Halifax child sex offences Published duration 6 January

image copyright PA Media image caption West Yorkshire police officer Amjad Ditta is currently suspended

A police officer and 15 other men have appeared at Bradford Magistrates' Court accused of sexual assaults against children.

The charges, which include rape and supplying drugs, relate to offences against three teenage girls in Halifax between 2006 and 2009.

PC Amjad Ditta faces a single charge of sexual touching.

He and the other men were given bail and will appear at Bradford Crown Court on 20 January.

The victims were aged between 13 and 16 at the time.

image copyright PA Media image caption Some of the defendants tried to cover their faces as they left the court

District Judge Charlotte Holland said that the alleged offences were "too serious" to be dealt with by the magistrates' court and that it was necessary for them to be heard at crown court instead.

Mr Ditta, who was attached to West Yorkshire Police's Protective Services Operations, was a serving officer at the time of the alleged offence.

He has been suspended from duty, the force has previously said.

The charged men, who are all from Halifax, are:

Vaqaas Abbas, 30, charged with three counts of rape and three of supplying a class C drug

Nadeem Adalat, 34, charged with four counts of rape and four counts of supplying a class C drug

Sajid Adalat, 43, charged with rape

Waseem Adalat, 33, charged with two counts of rape, trafficking and supplying a class C drug

Amjad Ditta, 35, charged with sexual touching

Christopher Eastwood, 45, charged with two counts of rape and two counts of supplying a class C drug

Mahtab Islam, 46, charged with five counts of rape, three of supplying a class A drug, three of supplying a class C drug, two of sexual assault and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice

Mohammed Rizwan Iqbal, 34, charged with rape

Ishtiaq Latif, 32, charged with sexual activity with a child

Asad Mahmood, 33, charged with two counts of rape and trafficking

Khalifa Mughal, 36, is charged with six counts of rape, supply of a class C drug, supply of a class A drug and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice

Younis Mohammed, 34, is charged with rape and causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent

Nadeem Nassir, 39, charged with rape, supply of a class C drug and making threats to kill

Shahzad Nowaz, 40, charged with rape, supply of a class C drug and making threats to kill

Shazad Nazir, 44, charged with two counts of rape and two counts of supplying a class C drug

Sohail Zafar, 36, charged with rape and supplying a class C drug