Seven men charged with over 40 sexual offences against 11 teenage girls in Bristol, latest in UK grooming gang scandal prompting public inquiry
LONDON: Seven men face over 40 sexual offence charges involving 11 teenage girls in the latest UK grooming gang prosecution.
Avon and Somerset Police announced the charges following an investigation into group-based child sexual exploitation in Bristol between 2022 and 2025.
The Crown Prosecution Service decided to prosecute after a police probe into organised child sexual abuse.
James Bolton-Smith of the CPS’s organised child sexual abuse unit confirmed the prosecution decision.
This case represents the latest in a series of grooming gang prosecutions that prompted a government-ordered public inquiry in June.
Official reports have previously identified men of mostly South Asian origin suspected of sexually abusing thousands of predominantly white, working-class girls over decades.
Four of the seven defendants described themselves as Iranian, Syrian or Arab, according to police statements.
Six men face at least one rape charge each, while the seventh faces a sexual assault charge.
Separate investigations into historic child sexual exploitation in Rochdale have resulted in 32 convictions to date.
Those offenders received collective prison sentences exceeding 450 years.
Far-right figures including activist Tommy Robinson have used the grooming gang issue to rally against multiculturalism and immigration. – AFP
