A 42-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of inciting sexual exploitation of a child, trafficking and assault in a village close to Peterborough. And police fear others could be involved in girls in their mid to late teens being exploited by men from outside the county.
Lincolnshire police issued an appeal for information following the arrest of the man.
“We are appealing for information following the arrest of a man in connection with an investigation into sexual exploitation of girls in the Lincoln and Crowland areas,” said a spokesperson for Lincolnshire police.
“We received a report that a number of girls in their mid to late-teens were being exploited by men who have been travelling from outside the county for sexual gain.”
The police spokesperson said it is being alleged that the girls have been involved in conversations with men via mobile phones and have met in person.
“We are following a number of lines of enquiry to establish the circumstances, and we are now appealing to anyone else who might have information which could help our investigation to come forward,” said the spokesperson.
Lincolnshire police say they are keen to hear from anyone who might have been in conversations with, or approached by, men in this way and to “please remember that you are not in trouble, and we are here to help you. Your identity will always be protected”.
The 42-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of causing or inciting sexual exploitation of a child, trafficking and sexual assault has been released on police bail while enquiries continue.
Lincolnshire police said more information and links to support children can be found here:
If you can help, please contact OIC DC Jann Olsen on jann.olsen@lincs.police.uk quoting incident number 326 of 10 December.