SIX men have tonight been charged following an investigation into an alleged child sex ring prostituting girls.

Detectives said tonight the six would appear before a magistrates' court tomorrow morning.

The six are aged between 26 and 37 and the charges include rape, conspiracy to commit rape, trafficking and arranging the prostitution of children.

The charges are:

A 30-year-old faces one charge of conspiring to rape a child, one of arranging prostitution of a child and trafficking.

A 31-year-old man faces three charges of rape, one of conspiring to rape a child, three of arranging the prostitution of a child, one of making a threat to kill and one of trafficking.

A 37-year-old man faces two charges of conspiracy to rape a child and one of supplying a class A drug to a child.

A 32-year-old faces one charge of rape.

A 26-year-old man faces four charges of rape, two of arranging the prostitution of a child and one of making a threat to kill.

A 26-year-old man faces 10 charges of engaging in sexual activity with a child.

Their names and the court have not been publicly identified for fear of reprisals.

Seven other men have been released on police bail until April while enquiries continue.

The charges follow a series of dawn raids across Oxford on Thursday, under the codename Operation Bullfinch.

The investigation was launched after Oxfordshire County Council staff began to fear why several girls were disappearing from their homes.

Authorities believe 24 girls aged between 11 and 16 may have been affected.