Ten men appear before court over child sexual exploitation charges relating to alleged abuse of girls in Kirklees

The ten men appeared at Leeds Crown Court this morning (Friday) over the charges, which relate to allegations made by three girls.

The abuse is alleged to have occurred at several locations across the north Kirklees area, including in Batley and Dewsbury, between 1999 and 2012.

Irfan Khan, 34, of Surrey Street, Batley, Sajad Hussain, 37, of Batley, Amjad Hussain, 41, of Lee Street, Ravensthorpe and Saleem Mohammed Nasir, 44, of Hope Street, Batley all appeared before His Honour Judge Geoffrey Marson QC.

Also before the court was Michael Birkenshaw, 34, of The Oval, Wakefield, Amran Mehrban, 37, of Oaklands Drive, Batley, Mohammed Zada, 41, of Thorncliffe Road, Batley, Sarkaut Yasen, 35, of Park House Drive, Dewsbury, Ebrahim Pandor, 41, of Highdale, Dewsbury, and Shakeel Daji, 41, of Mount Avenue, Batley.

Charges against the men include rape of a child under 16, sexual activity with a child, false imprisonment and trafficking.

In the short hearing, which was mostly held remotely with Judge Marson leading the proceeding via a video link, a provisional trial date was set for October 3, 2022.

Judge Marson said it was regreattble that the case would not be heard before next year, adding: "These are substantial cases and we are, at the moment, snowed under with cases as a consequence of the pandemic."

The men are scheduled to appear again before the court for pleas on May 14.