Six men from a suspected grooming gang have been charged with sex offences against underage girls.
Codrin Dura, 25, Leonard Paun, 22, Stefan Ciuraru, 21, Bogdan Gugiuman, 43, Klaudio Aleksiu, 27, and Ionut Mihai, 27 are all accused of committing offences against six females under the age of 18.
The offences, including counts of rape, sexual activity with minors, distributing photos of a child and supplying Class A drugs, are all alleged to have been carried out in Gateshead, Newcastle.
Dura, of Ripon Street, Bensham, has been charged with 17 offences including eight counts of rape, four counts of sexual activity with a child and one count of attempted rape.
He has also been charged with one count of assault by penetration, one count of arranging or facilitating commission of a child sex offence as well as one count of supplying a Class A drug and one count of blackmail.
- Paun, of Windsor Avenue, Saltwell, Gateshead, has been charged with 11 offences, including five counts of rape, two counts of arranging or facilitating commission of a child sex offence. He is also accused on one count of sexual activity with a child, one count of sexual assault, one count of distributing photos of a child and one count of supplying a Class A drug.
- Ciuraru, of Brinkburn Avenue, Saltwell, Gateshead, has been charged with six offences. They are four counts of sexual assault, one count of sexual activity with a child and one count of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.
- Gugiuman, of Westbourne Avenue, Saltwell, Gateshead, has been charged with four counts of rape and one count of supplying a Class A drug.
- Aleksiu, of Church Terrace, Windsor, Berkshire, has been charged with two counts of rape and one count of supplying a Class A drug.
- Mihai, of Claremont South Avenue, Bensham, Gateshead, has been charged three counts of rape.
All six defendants were charged and released on conditional bail when they appeared before Newcastle Magistrates’ Court last week.
Dura, Paun, Ciuraru, Gugiuman, Aleksiu and Mihai, will appear at will appear at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court in August..
Detective Chief Inspector Graeme Barr, the senior investigation officer on the case, said: ‘Following an extensive investigation into alleged non-recent child sex offences, six men have now been charged. T
‘Those who came forward to report allegations continue to receive specialist support from our officers.
‘As the case is now ongoing through the courts, we would ask the public to avoid speculation both in the community and online which could jeopardise proceedings.’