CHILDREN were sexually exploited in a Cowley Road guesthouse that was raided by police last year, Oxford’s policing commander said.

Athena Guest House and eight other buildings along Cowley Road were searched by police in November after police had intelligence the premises were being used as a brothel.

Supt Christian Bunt said yesterday the police now know children were involved.

He said: “It was child sexual exploitation. At the time we didn’t know the ages of the girls but we do now.

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“We know the guesthouse was used for prostitution. We have had girls confirm that is the case.”

He said police were working on targeting hotels to stop child sexual exploitation in the early stages to avoid it escalating to more serious sexual abuse.

“These are the sorts of establishments Thames Valley Police is cracking down on, where clearly there’s criminal activity taking place.

“If places like this are running itself in a way that allows this to happen then they could be letting child sexual exploitation take place.”

Supt Bunt added: “It’s hotels that do not take customer details or that allow people to rent rooms by the hour.”

A 45-year-old man and 25-year-old woman were arrested and later released on police bail on suspicion of intentionally arranging or facilitating entry into the UK of a person with a view to engaging in sexual exploitation.

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