Man, 20, pleads not guilty to child rape offences
Qays Najm/BBCA man has pleaded not guilty to four rape offences following an investigation into group-based child sexual exploitation.
Bilal Shinwari, 20, appeared before Norwich Crown Court after he was extradited from the Republic of Ireland.
He is accused of 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 is also accused of one count of conspiring to rape a woman aged 16 or over between August 2023 and May 2025. He was remanded in custody.
Shinwari, who had been living in Dulin prior to his arrest by Irish police, spoke only to confirm his name and deny the charges.
He is one of eight Afghans who have been charged as part of the Norfolk Police investigation.
The seven other men are accused of sexual offences committed between August 2023 and May 2025, and three are also accused of facilitating human trafficking.
They pleaded not guilty to a combined total of 40 counts during a hearing at Norwich Crown Court in June and were also remanded in custody.
Norfolk police said Shinwari arrived in the UK by small boat in 2022 and was an asylum seeker.
The seven other men had been granted asylum in the UK.
Norfolk Police previously said the charges related to two girls who were in their early to mid-teens when the alleged offences took place in Norwich.
The trial of the eight men is expected to begin on 11 January.
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