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Six men deny child abuse and rape charges

Owain EvansBBC Wales
News imagePA Media A composite image of nine men outside court. They are all headshots. There are four at the top and two at the bottom.PA Media
The nine men were arrested in July by Gwent Police

Six men have denied historical offences relating to alleged sexual abuse and rape of children as part of a grooming gang.

Nine men aged 54 to 76 were arrested in July as part of Gwent Police's Operation Oak investigation into women's reports of being sexually abused as children in the 1980s and 1990s.

The defendants, all British citizens, appeared at Cardiff Crown Court on Friday, where six entered not guilty pleas.

All of the men were released on conditional bail, and a trial date for January 2028 was set by Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke. It is expected to last up to 20 weeks.

Those who entered pleas were:

  • Shafaq Mohammed, 58, of Birmingham. He pleaded not guilty to six counts of rape, one of buggery without consent, two of aiding and abetting rape, and two of causing prostitution.
  • Syed Mohammad Ashan Taqvi, 65, of Newport. He pleaded not guilty to four counts of rape.
News imagePA Media A composite image of four men outside court. The man on the far left wears a blue three piece suit and has white hair, the one second left has dark black hair with glasses, he has a maroon blazer and pinstriped shirt, the man next to him has a three piece blue suit, he has a white goatee and shaved head, the man on the right has a blue suit on with a white shirt and red tie.PA Media
L-R: Kevin Lawrence, Aminur Rahman Chowdhury, Murad Ali and Sheikh Mohammed Tahir Ullah all appeared in court on Friday
  • Mohammed Sheikh Abdul Hannan, 54, of Edinburgh. He pleaded not guilty to one count of indecent assault, two of rape, three of aiding and abetting rape, and one of conspiracy to rape.
  • Kevin Lawrence, 54, of Dunoon, Argyll and Bute. He pleaded not guilty to one count of conspiracy to rape and one of causing prostitution.
  • Aminur Rahman Choudhury, 58, of Tottenham, north London. He pleaded not guilty to one count of rape.
  • Murad Ali, 57, of Swansea. He pleaded not guilty to two counts of rape.
News imagePA Media A composite image of five men outside court. They are all head and shoulder shots. The man on the far left has a mask on, cap and sunglasses and holds papers. The one next to him has greying hair and a beard with a white shirt and grey blazer, next to him the man has dark hair and facial hair and white striped shirt. Next to him the man has a black woolly hat and red t-shirt and far right the man has a dark blue cap, blue shirt and a mask over his face. The man on the far left wears a blue three piece suit and has white hair, the one second left has dark black hair with glasses, he has a maroon blazer and pinstriped shirt, the man next to him has a three piece blue suit, he has a white goatee and shaved head, the man on the right has a blue suit on with a white shirt and red tie.PA Media
L-R: Syed Mohammed Ashan Taqvi, Shafaq Mohammed, Mohammed Ramzan, Shakeel Babur and Mohammed Sheikh Abdul Hannan also appeared in court on Friday

Those who did not enter pleas were:

  • Sheikh Mohammed Tahir Ullah, 73, of Newport. Gwent Police has said he is charged with one count of rape of a female aged 16 or over and one of rape of a female under 16.
  • Mohammed Ramzan, 76, of Newport. Gwent Police has said he is charged with seven offences - two counts of rape of a female under 16, three of indecent assault on a girl under 16, one of causing prostitution of a girl under 16, and one of conspiring to rape a girl under 16.
  • Shakeel Babur, 58, of Nelson, Lancashire. Gwent Police previously said he is charged with four counts of indecent assault on a girl under 16.
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