A FURTHER three men have been appeared in court charged with child rape offences across Oxfordshire, pushing the total to eighteen.

The men were first arrested last week after a police investigation into child sexual exploitation across the county called Operation Nautical.

Fifteen men were charged over the weekend with child rape offences and will appear at Oxford Crown Court on April 25.

At Oxfordshire Magistrates’ Court yesterday three men were also ordered to appear at the crown court on the same day.

Amir Arfi, 23, Atique Akhtar, 23 and Ateeq Hussain, 24, all of no fixed abode, appeared via videolink from prison.

Magistrates ordered that their powers were insufficient given the severity of the charges and ordered they join the other men at Oxford Crown Court later this month.

The charges came after raids conducted last week as part of the sweeping crackdown and all relate to three female alleged victims between 2008 and 2015.

Detective Superintendent Paul Hayles, head of force CID, said last week the raids had come after a ‘long period’ of investigation into the complex case.

He added: “I don’t want to alarm the wider community as these were specific warrants and have been in the planning for some time.”