Protests as 18 defendants appear in court charged with child sex exploitation offences in Huddersfield

Two of the men charged appear at court. Photo: SWNS

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Seventeen men and a woman have appeared in court charged with offences relating to the alleged sexual exploitation of children inÂ Huddersfield.

More than 20 police were on duty outside the West Yorkshire town's magistrates' court as the defendants appeared before District Judge Michael Fanning in small batches.

A small group of protesters gathered outside the building before the hearings began.

Twelve more defendants are due to appear before the same court on Thursday.

One of the men charged appears at court. Photo: SWNS

The 18 who appeared on Wednesday were all given conditional bail and ordered to appear at Leeds Crown Court on November 1.

The defendants (all from Huddersfield except where stated) were:

- Iftikar Ali, 37, of Holly Road, charged with three rapes and one attempted rape

- Umar Zaman, 30, of Bishop's Court, charged with two rapes

Police outside the court in Kirkless. Photo: SWNS

- Basharat Hussain, 31, charged with two rapes

- Banaras Hussain, 37, of Scarborough Road, Shipley, charged with one rape

- Mubasher Hussain, 35, of Lockwood Road, charged with one rape and one sexual assault

- Abdul Majid, 34, of Lightcliffe Road, charged with two rapes

- Gul Riaz, 42, of Balmoral Avenue, charged with one rape

- Fehreen Rafiq, 38, of Blackmoorfoot Road, charged with two counts of facilitating the commission of a child sex offence

- Mohammed Sajjad, 31, of Moorbottom Road, charged with four counts of rape and one count of facilitating the commission of a child sex offence

- Usman Ali, 32, of Park Drive, charged with two counts of rape

- Mohammed Suhail Arif, 30, of New Hey Road, charged with one rape

- Amin Ali Choli, 36, of Seaton Street, charged with two rapes

- Mohammed Dogar, 35, of Central Avenue, charged with facilitating the commission of a child sex offence

- Banaris Hussain, 35, of William Street, charged with one rape

- Shaqeel Hussain, 35, of Spen Valley Road, Dewsbury, charged with one rape and two counts of trafficking

- Mohammed Waqas Anwar, 28, of Chapel Terrace, charged with five rapes

- Saqib Raheel, 32, of Upper High Street, Cradley Heath, West Midlands, charged with two rapes

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