A High Wycombe man is among five people arrested amid a huge investigation into an alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl.

The 31-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday, February 10, as part of an investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA).

Four other men, aged between 28 and 31, were also arrested in Rotherham the same day.

They were all held on suspicion of rape, questioned by NCA investigators as part of Operation Stovewood and then released on bail pending further enquiries.

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The investigation relates an alleged rape in the Rotherham area in 2007, when the victim was just 12-years-old.

Philip Marshall, the NCA’s senior investigating officer for Operation Stovewood, said:

“The NCA now have more than 40 separate investigations as part of Operation Stovewood with more than 260 identified suspects.

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“We continue to encourage all victims to come forward and speak to us in confidence. We, and our partners, will work with them to ensure that appropriate support is in place and I hope these latest arrests send out the message that we will take these allegations extremely seriously.

“Victims will be listened to and they will be supported throughout.”

Operation Stovewood is the single largest law enforcement investigation into non-familial child sexual abuse (CSA) in the UK.

Officers are investigating allegations of CSA in and around Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.