Hundreds of mostly young women dressed in black have marched in Liberia's capital Monrovia to protest against the alleged rape of dozens of girls at a US-backed charity school, the More Than Me Academy.

Katie Meyler, the CEO of More Than Me, announced she would step aside after a report by ProPublica and Time magazine revealed the abuse.

Protesters carried placards which read: “Our girls are unprotected” and “Fix the system”.

Nurse Nanela Warner said she was moved to participate in the protest because “it could have been my daughter to be raped”.

“So I am standing up for a cause and I want the government to come in to help us bring all of those that are involved to justice,” she added.

The NGO had received almost $600,000 (£455,000) from the US government, and Ms Meyler had been praised by celebrity philanthropists including Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. She had also received an invitation to the White House from former President Barack Obama.

According to the investigative report, Ms Meyler entrusted a local man, Macintosh Johnson, to recruit vulnerable young girls in the West Point slum of Monrovia for her school, which opened in 2013.

Johnson, who later died from Aids, was her main contact on the ground while she continued to live outside Liberia for up to 10 months a year.

According to police records, Johnson repeatedly raped several young girls under his care at his home and on school property.