25 West Yorkshire men charged with child sexual offences against same alleged victim

25 men, mostly from West Yorkshire, have today been charged with allegedly committing sexual abuse against a single child who was aged under 16.

The men - aged between 23 and 42 and almost all from West Yorkshire - are charged with a number of offences including rape, trafficking, voyeurism, grooming and supply of a Class B drug to the child, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

One charge relates to another child who was allegedly under 16 at the time, who also cannot be named. The alleged offences took place between 2006 and 2011 in Calderdale.

A West Yorkshire police statement said: "They relate to, in the main, one female victim who was aged under 16 at the time. One of the allegations also relates to a second victim, which occurred during the same time period."

The men are: Fasil Mahmood, 35, of Halifax; Zameer Asif, 24, of Halifax; Mohammed Ramzan, 34, of Bradford; Khalid Zaman, 37, of Bradford; Ataf Ali, 32, of Bradford; Mohammed Fiaz Askar, 32, of Bradford; Aesan Pervez, 26, of Halifax; Mansoor Akhtar, 23, of Huddersfield; Furqaan Ghafar, 30, Derby; Aftab Hussain, 35, of Halifax; Talib Saddiq, 29, of Halifax; Amaar Ali Ditta, 25, of Halifax; Sikander Malik, 30, of Halifax; Akbar Aziz Hussain, 29, of Halifax; Azeem Subhani, 23, of Halifax; Tahir Mahmood, 42, of Halifax; Mohammed Ahmed, 41, of Halifax; Haaris Ahmed, 31, of Halifax; Taukeer Butt, 29, of Halifax; Arshad Majid, 24, of Shipley; Christopher Mulqeen-Bennett, 36, of Newport, Gwent; Muhammed Asim Janjuha, 33, of Bradford; Haider Ali, 39, of Halifax; Sikander Ishaq, 30, of Halifax; and Hedar Ali, 35, of Nantwich.

The men were all released on bail and will appear at Calderdale Magistrates Court on 12 February.

Last month, an Her Majesty's Inspectorate of the Constabulary (HMIC) inspection of all police forces across the country criticised West Yorkshire Police for its "inconsistent" approach to child protection across the county.