A major incident room has been set up by South Yorkshire Police officers undertaking a “complex” investigation into non-recent child sexual exploitation in Rotherham.

Eight full-time staff make up the team investigating the enquiry, headed by Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) Aneela Khalil Khan.

A report to Dr Alan Billings, South Yorkshire’s police and crime comissioner, states that the investigation now consists of six adult victims who are actively engaging with the police and it has led to the identification of 16 potential suspects.

The enquiry has been ongoing for “some months”, and resulted from a referral from West Yorkshire Police after disclosures were made to them. This matter is being investigated by South Yorkshire Police as it falls outside the terms of reference for Operation Stovewood, with the offences predating 1997. The offences occurred in the mid 1990s at various locations across Sheffield and Rotherham.

South Yorkshire Police has created a major incident room to investigate historical child sexual exploitation in Rotherham

Nine of the identified suspects have now been arrested, and the investigation is likely to run for a number of months.

SYP are engaging with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) requesting a formal review of the evidence within the investigation.

“[CSE] continues to be a focus for us with a continual need to maintain and improve our response to this sort of offending and the service we provide to safeguard and protect victims of exploitation,” states the report. “A great deal of work and specialist knowledge is needed to build bonds of trust with victims of child sexual exploitation and to secure evidence for arrests and prosecutions.”

Rotherham child sexual exploitation: South Yorkshire Police set up 'major incident room' as nine arrests made