NINE men yesterday denied involvement in a child prostitution and sex trafficking ring based in Oxford.

The suspects face a total of 51 charges relating to the alleged rape and sexual assault of six vulnerable girls aged between 11 and 16.

It is claimed the victims were befriended, groomed, sexually abused and required to perform sexual services for others for money.

One girl was sexually assaulted with the handles of baseball bats, knives and cleavers and was subjected to an attempt to make her suffer a miscarriage, it is claimed.

The nine men were all arrested in Oxford as part of Thames Valley Police ’s Operation Bullfinch , which saw a series of raids across the city in March.

They all appeared in the dock of the Old Bailey for a two-hour hearing before Judge Peter Rook QC and spoke only to confirm their names and enter pleas.

Just reading out the indictments to the accused took 33 minutes.

The judge confirmed that the trial, which is expected to last between eight and 12 weeks, will start on January 14, 2013.

Anjum Dogar, 30, is charged with three counts of rape, three of conspiracy to rape, three of arranging or facilitating child prostitution and one count of trafficking within the UK for sexual exploitation, His brother, hospital porter Akhtar, 31, is charged with five counts of rape, three of conspiracy to rape, three of arranging or facilitating child prostitution and one count of trafficking within the UK for sexual exploitation.

Father-of-two Kamir Jamil, 27, a security guard, is charged with four counts of rape, three counts of conspiracy to rape, two counts of arranging the prostitution of a child, one count of possession with intent to supply class A drugs.

Mohammed Karrar, 38, is charged with four counts of conspiracy to rape, six counts of rape, two counts of trafficking for sexual exploitation, one of conspiracy to assault by instrument, two counts of arranging or facilitating child prostitution, one count of using an assault with intent to procure a miscarriage and one count of assault of a child by instrument.

Security guard Bassan Karrar, a 33-year-old father of two, is charged with three counts of rape, three counts of conspiracy to rape, two counts of arranging or facilitating child prostitution, one count of trafficking for sexual exploitation and one count of conspiracy to assault by instrument.

Assad Hussain, 31, is charged with three counts of sexual activity with a child.

Mohammed Hussain, 24, is charged with conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child, rape and two counts of sexual activity with a child.

Bilal Ahmed, 25, is charged with conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child and sexual activity with a child.

Jobless Zeeshan Ahmed, 27, is charged with two counts of conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child and two counts of sexual activity with a child.

The Dogar brothers, of Tawney Street, Oxford; Jamil, of Aldrich Road, Summertown; Zeeshan Ahmed, of Palmer Road, Headington; Bilal Ahmed, of Suffolk Road, Maidenhead; Assad Hussain, of Horspath Road, Cowley; Mohammed Hussain, of Ashhurst Way, Rose Hill; Mohammed Karrar, of Cowley Road, Oxford; and Bassam Karrar, of no fixed address, all denied the charges and were remanded in custody. They will next appear in court on November 30 for a pre-trial review.