Four men charged over Stockport teenager rapes

Four men have been charged with rape following an investigation into the sexual exploitation of teenage girls from Stockport.

The charges follow reports of rape by two girls, one aged 14 and one 15, between 2009 and 2011.

The four, all from Chorlton-on-Medlock in Manchester, are due to appear at the city's magistrates' court in May.

A fifth man, arrested on suspicion of trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation and rape, remains on bail.

Seventeen other people who were arrested and bailed as part of the investigation have had their bail cancelled.

Det Ch Insp Peter Marsh said it had been a "protracted and complicated inquiry".

"We have carried out this investigation in close co-operation with Stockport Children's Services and the Crown Prosecution Service and, as a result, four people have been charged," he said.