The National Crime Agency (NCA) has arrested two men in Bradford as part of an investigation into child sexual exploitation and abuse in Rotherham.

Operation Stovewood is focusing on non-familial child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA) in Rotherham, between 1997 and 2013.

The men were arrested at separate addresses in Bradford yesterday morning (Wednesday) and were taken to a police station in South Yorkshire where they were interviewed by NCA officers, a spokesman said. 

Both were arrested on suspicion of trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation. The offences are believed to have taken place against two girls, aged 16 and 17.

Today (Thursday), police said the two men had been bailed until December. The investigation is ongoing.

Operation Stovewood is an independent NCA investigation which started in December at the request of South Yorkshire Chief Constable David Crompton.

Towards the end of last month, the officer in overall command of the operation, NCA Director Trevor Pearce, said stage one of the investigation was nearing completion.

"Operation Stovewood is investigating allegations of non-familial abuse in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013, the period covered by the Alexis Jay Report, which was published in August last year.
 
"We have undertaken a massive information gathering exercise during the past six months. We have taken possession of information from South Yorkshire Police, Rotherham Council and identified and spoken to other individuals and agencies who may also hold information of relevance to our investigation,” said Mr Pearce.

"We have 47 boxes of written material from ‘Risky Business’ alone. These boxes contain nearly 1,500 files and the content of each has been reviewed and  is now being indexed, read, assessed and  entered into a Major Incident Room system.

"This will enable us to identify links to information from other sources and within other investigations. Last week alone, we took possession of a further 45 boxes of material that will also now be assessed."

An examination of the material reviewed by Operation Stovewood so far has identified a significant number of potential offenders. The current figure is in the low hundreds.

It has now made nine arrests and has 34 designated suspects. 

There are now 13 distinct investigations within the overall investigation, eight of them large-scale.

The NCA is working with South Yorkshire Police, Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, local health agencies, the Office of Police and Crime Commissioner and others to tackle past non-familial CSEA in Rotherham; identify offenders and ensure that victims and witnesses have access to advice, information and appropriate support.

MORE TOP STORIES