The jury in the trial of an alleged grooming gang has been discharged by a judge for legal reasons.
Six men were facing allegations of rape and other sexual offences against two teenage girls in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, on dates between 2003 and 2006, at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court.
One of the accused, Tahir Rashid, 54, is also alleged to have targeted a third young girl who he is accused of raping in the late 1980s.
Rashid, of Rochdale, and co-defendants Mohammed Saleem, 46, of Rochdale; Sucklane Shah, 46, of no fixed abode; Itfaq Hussain, 45, of Shawforth; Arshad Mohammed, 55, of Rochdale; and Amjad Mahmood, 53, of Rochdale, deny the charges. A retrial date has yet to be set.
