Rochdale arrests
Manchester Police have charged ten men with child exploitation Getty

Manchester Police have charged ten men with child sexual exploitation in Rochdale. The charges relate to offences committed against seven victims aged between 13 and 23 at the time of the abuse, Greater Manchester Police said.

The offences, alleged to have happened between 2005 and 2013, include rape, conspiracy to rape, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, sexual activity with a child, and sexual assault.

An investigation in 2012 dismantled a paedophile ring in the town after local authorities "failed" victims by failing to stop the abuse.

The victims, were raped, physically assaulted and forced to have sex with several men in a day, several times a week.

Shabir Ahmed, 59, led the child sex exploitation ring of nine men, which targeted vulnerable young girls in Rochdale and Oldham. He was jailed for 19 years in 2013 following an 11-week trial at Liverpool crown court.

Shabir Ahmed
Shabir Ahmed, 59, leader of a paedophile ring in Rochdale