Five men arrested over historic Rotherham abuse allegations
30 July 2020, 17:48
Five men have been arrested in connection with historic allegations of abuse against four girls in Rotherham.
The offences are alleged to have taken place around 20 years ago, when the girls were aged between 11 and 16.
Four of the men arrested live in Rotherham, with the fifth residing in Leeds.
All are aged between 38 and 50.
The men were arrested by National Crime Agency officers over the course of three days this week.
They have since been questioned and released while investigations continue.
Philip Marshall, senior investigating officer for Operation Stovewood, said:
“Our priority in all these investigations is to support victims, and I’d urge anyone who was the victim of child sexual abuse in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013 to come speak to us in the strictest of confidence. We will do all we can to support you”
“Operations like those that have taken place this week demonstrate that we, together with partners in South Yorkshire, are determined to bring offenders to justice, and more arrests are to come.”
To date 134 people have been arrested, with 20 convicted and sentenced to jail terms totalling 248 years.
Victims or witnesses who might have information to help investigations can find contact details on the Stovewood pages of the National Crime Agency’s website www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/Stovewood.
