Five deny historic child sex charges – Telford again

From the Shropshire Star and the Mirror

Five Telford men have appeared in court over historic child sex exploitation offences. The defendants, who were teenagers at the time of the alleged incidents, denied all the charges when they appeared before a judge at Birmingham Crown Court yesterday.

Mohammed Ali Sultan, 32, faces four charges of indecent assault and an offence of rape of a girl under 16 between September 2000 and May 2003.

Mohammad Rizwan, 36, faces two charges of indecent assault,

Shafiq Younas, 34, faces a charge of indecent assault and

Nazam Akhtar, 34, faces a charge of rape dating to the same period.

Amjad Hussain, 37, faces an charge of indecent assault jointly charged with Hussain, and a charge of indecent assault on March 28, 2002.

Sultan, of no fixed abode, was remanded in custody until then, while the others, Hussain, of Acacia Drive, Leegomery; Rizwan, of Mafeking Road, Hadley; Younas, of Regent Street, Wellington, and Akhtar, of Victoria Avenue, Wellington, were all granted unconditional bail.

The trial will be held on December 2.

A public inquiry, chaired by ex-judge Tom Crowther, will begin this summer into offending dating back to 1989. Police confirmed: “Operation Vapour is an investigation into non-recent child sexual exploitation. As a result of Operation Vapour, five men have been charged.”

Sources say officers have been given the names of at least 80 alleged victims….It is understood more have made disclosures since the West Mercia force opened its inquiry.