Nine charged with rape and sex offences in Rotherham investigation Operation Stovewood

NINE men have appeared in court in connection with an investigation into 29 offences of rape and other child sex crimes in Rotherham.

Five of the accused who went before Sheffield Magistrates’ Court yesterday are from Rotherham and two are formerly of the town.

The following defendants are charged with offences alleged to have taken place between 2003 and 2008:

Mohammed Amar (31), of Elizabeth Way, Masbrough: two counts of indecent assault.

Mohammed Siyab (33), of Stevenson Drive, Herringthorpe: two counts of rape, one of indecent assault and one of trafficking.

Omar Mahmood (36), of Grosvenor Road, Eastwood: two counts of rape.

Yasser Ajaib (38), of Walter Street, Thornhill: indecent assault.

Mohammed Sadiq (38), of Richard Street, Broom Valley: two counts of rape.

Abid Sadiq (33), formerly of Rotherham: three counts of rape and one of indecent assault.

Tahir Yasin (36), of Burngreave Street, Sheffield: six counts of rape.

Ramin Bari (36), of Batemore Road, Sheffield: four counts of rape.

An ninth man, Mohammed Imran Ali Akhtar (41), formerly of Rotherham, has been charged separately with two counts of rape and two of indecent assault alleged to have taken place in 2001 and 2002.

All nine appeared before Sheffield Magistrates on Wednesday and were bailed until their next appearance at Sheffield Crown Court on May 17.

They were charged under the National Crime Agency’s Operation Stovewood, which is looking into allegations of child sexual exploitation and abuse in and around Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.