Eighth man charged over child rape allegations

An eighth man has been charged with rape as part of an investigation into group-based child sexual exploitation.

Norfolk Police said Bilal Shinwari, 20 had appeared at Norwich Magistrates' Court on Saturday. He had been in custody in Ireland after being arrested there on 22 May.

He is charged with two counts of rape of a girl under 16 and one count of conspiring to rape a girl under 16 between August 2023 and October 2023.

Shinwari, who was born in Afghanistan and whose immigration status was described by police as "asylum seeker", was remanded in custody until a plea hearing at Norwich Crown Court on 31 July.

Shinwari, who police said had arrived in the UK by small boat in 2022, is also charged with one count of conspiring to rape a woman aged 16 or over between August 2023 and May 2025.

Seven other Afghans who police said had been granted asylum in the UK have already been charged as part of the investigation .

The seven men are accused of sexual offences committed between August 2023 and May 2025, and three are also accused of facilitating human trafficking.

They all pleaded not guilty to all 38 counts during a hearing at Norwich Crown Court last month and were remanded in custody.

The charges relate to two girls who were in their early to mid-teens when the alleged offences were said to have taken place in Norfolk, police have previously said.

Norfolk Police said none of the charged men had lived at asylum hotels in Norfolk and none of the alleged offending happened in asylum hotels.

The men have been told they will go on trial on 11 January 2027, but this date may slip back given the nature and extent of the evidence in the case.