Kirklees child sex abuse: 40 arrests in Dewsbury and Batley investigation

Forty people have been arrested in connection with the alleged sexual abuse of nine girls in West Yorkshire.

West Yorkshire Police said 38 men and two women were arrested as part of an investigation into child sexual exploitation in Dewsbury and Batley.

The offences are said to have taken place between 1989 and 1999.

The force said 27 people were arrested in the Kirklees area while the other arrests were made in places including Bradford, Leeds and Wakefield.

All of those arrested have now been released on police bail pending further inquiries.

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Det Ch Insp Ian Thornes said the investigation, known as Operation Teeford, is not linked to any other non-recent child sexual exploitation inquiries in the Kirklees area.

"Safeguarding and protecting children remains a top priority for West Yorkshire Police," he said.

"This ongoing investigation again demonstrates our determination to investigate all reports of child sexual abuse in Kirklees and West Yorkshire, whether recent, or from a number of years ago.

"We firmly mean it when we say no stone is left unturned to thoroughly examine all reports of these abhorrent offences which affect some of the most vulnerable people in our society."

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leeds-58030849