A further 12 men have been charged in connection with the sexual abuse of eight young girls in Rotherham as part of a National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation into child abuse among predominantly Muslim grooming gangs.

Aged between 33 and 38, the men are accused of a total of 44 offences including rape and false imprisonment, and brings the number charged under Operation Stovewood  — the Agency’s probe into historical child sex abuse in the Yorkshire town  — to 21.

The latest charges are related to eight girls under the age of 16, over a five year period from 1998 to 2008, according to the NCA.

Mohammed Ashan, 33, and Waseem Khaliq, 33, each of whom face indecent assault and rape charges, and 33-year-old Masaeud Malik, charged with one count of indecent assault, remain in custody according to the NCA’s press release.

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