32 Men From West Yorkshire Facing Serious Sexual Abuse Charges On Under-Aged Girls

A record 32 men are facing serious sexual exploitation charges on under-aged girls spanning from 1999 to 2012. Most of the accused come from the Kirklees area and face charges of rape offenses committed during that period.

Police are now probing the matter where the alleged grooming gang committed the lavish acts on eight women. Further placing the unnamed suspects is that the eight women that were taken advantage of were aged 13 to 16 years old, BBC reported. The exploitation of the girls reportedly happened in parts of Kirklees, Bradford and Wakefield.

The operation was part of the Operation Tourway, an investigation into non-recent child sexual exploitation in parts of West Yorkshire. Aside from rape, the men are facing sexual activity with a child, trafficking and false imprisonment.

"The allegations against the defendants are from 1999 to 2012 and involve offenses committed against eight female victims, who were aged between 13 and 16 years old at the time of the alleged offenses,” the Yorkshire Police said. "Some of the victims were also subjected to offences when they were young adults.”

In all, they are facing 196 counts among defendants against the eight girls. The men were aged between 31 and 50 and are due to appear at Kirklees magistrates court on Friday and Monday, The Guardian reported.

According to The Sun, 50-year-old Asif Ali and 41-year-old Zafar Qayum were the preliminary ones being held by authorities. Ali is charged with 12 rape offenses while Qayum is facing 17 charges. Another one is Irfan Khan. The 34-year-old is charged with threats to kill and false imprisonment.

"Thirty two men, largely from the Kirklees area, have been charged with a variety of offences as part of Operation Tourway, an investigation into non-recent child sexual exploitation in parts of West Yorkshire,” the West Yorkshire Police said.