Police hint at more arrests

Police sources said today further arrests linked to the Oldham-Rochdale sex gang could be in the offing.

Police continue to deny there was a “racial or cultural” element to the gang’s crimes and said it was about adults abusing vulnerable children.

A spokeswoman for the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) said child sexual exploitation spanned “all cultures and ethnicities”.

But she added: “These cases highlight that Asian males have been involved in an organised manner in exploiting young women.”

Police have interviewed 47 young girls from the area who they believed could have been victims of the gang.

The offences happened in and around Rochdale in 2008 and 2009.

Senior investigating officer Det Insp Michael Sanderson, of the sexual offences unit, said: “The result reflects the gravity of the offences.

“These defendants have never shown the slightest bit of remorse and have forced their victims to relive their horrific ordeals.”

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