Five men arrested in investigation into alleged rape of 12-year-old girl in Rotherham

Detectives investigating the historic sexual abuse and exploitation of girls in Rotherham have arrested five men over a rape allegation.
By Susie Beever
Published 11th Feb 2021, 21:16 BST
Five men have been arrested over the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl in Rotherham in 2007Five men have been arrested over the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl in Rotherham in 2007
Five men have been arrested over the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl in Rotherham in 2007

The men were arrested by the National Crime Agency (NCA) on Wednesday and questioned over allegations of rape of a 12-year-old girl in the South Yorkshire town in 2007.

Four men aged between 28 and 31 were arrested in Rotherham, and a fifth, aged 31, was arrested in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. All five have since been bailed pending further enquiries.

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Philip Marshall, senior investigating officer at the NCA, said: “The NCA now have more than 40 separate investigations as part of Operation Stovewood with more than 260 identified suspects.

“We continue to encourage all victims to come forward and speak to us in confidence. We, and our partners, will work with them to ensure that appropriate support is in place and I hope these latest arrests send out the message that we will take these allegations extremely seriously.

“Victims will be listened to and they will be supported throughout.”

Operation Stovewood is the single largest law enforcement investigation into non-familial child sexual abuse (CSA) in the UK. Officers are investigating allegations of CSA in and around Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.

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