The 17-year-old strangled and slapped his victim as he subjected her to a horrific sexual assault
Photo posed by model(Image: PA)
A 17-year-old boy befriended a stranger by following her on Instagram before ruining her life. The teenager began messaging and FaceTiming the girl before arranging to meet her at a train station.
However, he then led her into woodland where he strangled and slapped her as he violently raped her. The youth, who was previously convicted of sexual offences against a boy, shook his head as he was locked up today.
Liverpool Crown Court heard on Wednesday that the defendant, who cannot be named due to his age after an application by the ECHO to lift reporting restrictions was refused, first made contact with his victim by sending a “random request” to follow her on Instagram. The two then began talking via FaceTime before arranging to meet at Kirkby Station.
Holly Menary, prosecuting, described how the younger teenage girl recalled him “acting a bit off” as they “walked and talked” during this meeting, having also “grabbed her a**e” when they hugged and been “very touchy”. However, they then met again at the same station in May last year.
On this occasion the boy “grabbed her by the arm” and told her “we need to talk”, apparently in relation to “other possible girlfriends” after she had seen messages he had sent to other girls. They then proceeded to a park, where he helped a man to find his lost dog before leading her up a hill and into woodland.
He then began kissing the complainant and “forced himself onto her”, pulling her shorts and underwear down and raping her. The youth began strangling her with one hand at one stage and slapped her with the other, leaving her unable to “talk, breathe or scream”.
She estimated that the assault persisted for 30 to 40 minutes before she told him that she needed to go home, after which he walked her back to the train station. He later messaged her “asking her if she was ok” before she blocked him on social media.
The boy however continued to make efforts to contact her by setting up fake online accounts. He was arrested in September last year after the incident was reported the police, but managed to flee from officers after being taken to Copy Lane Police Station.
But PCs were ultimately able to locate him within a short time period on nearby Manor Drive in Old Roan and rearrested him. Under interview, the teen claimed that the sexual activity had been consensual and said he had “run away with no plan” after being detained.
Bravely reading a statement to the court from the witness box, the victim said: “I’ve been told by my friends that I’ve changed. Before I met him, I was a lot happier.
“Since the incident, I can no longer open up to people about my feelings. I tend to lash out, which only causes more issues with family and friends.
“I now have very little trust in people who I meet. I wish I would never have met him. He has caused more hurt and pain than I feel I can cope with. I wish I was able to move on from this incident, but I know it will be a long and lonely road to recovery which I’m dreading.”
The defendant has one previous conviction, being handed a 12-month youth referral order in November 2023 for inciting a boy under 13 to engage in sexual activity. He remains subject to a sexual harm prevention order as a result.
Jonathan Duffy, defending, told the court that his client suffered from “vulnerabilities” and was “struggling with aspects of his mental health”, adding: “He does have a previous conviction and, of course, it is relevant. That offence was an online offence which was quite different, in terms of no actual physical contact with the victim. It is rightly identified as an aggravating feature.
“He maintains that he is not guilty. This is not a case where there was any evidence of planning. It was a spontaneous offence.” The boy was found guilty of rape and intentional strangulation following a trial in the youth court, having admitted escaping lawful custody.
Sitting with his arms folded in the dock and with a pair of glasses perched on top of his head and a crucifix on show around his neck, he appeared to wipe tears from his eyes as he was handed five years and four months in a young offenders’ institute plus an additional five years on licence.
What to do if you are the victim of a sexual crime
There is help out there for victims of rape and sexual assault and other sexual crimes.
The NHS recommends a range of services and support networks which are gathered on the NHS Choices website.
Merseyside Police have specially trained officers who are experienced in investigating sexual assaults in the most sensitive way.
If you’d like to report online, rather than speaking to an officer by telephone in the first instance, you can use Merseyside Police’s online crime reporting service which is secure and confidential.
If you’d like to talk to someone, the national non-emergency telephone number is staffed 24/7 and can be reached by calling 101.
For emergency calls contact call 999
Information on the services offered locally is gathered on Merseyide Police’s website.
Charities offering advice include RASA Merseyside, rapecrisis and safeline.
The custodial term was reduced from what would otherwise have been one of eight years due to his age. Sentencing, Judge Louise Brandon said: “She wishes she had never met you. It was a prolonged and sustained incident. The psychological harm she has been caused can properly be described as severe.
“You have an earlier conviction for a sexual offence involving a young boy who you met online. There are similarities between that and this.
“When you met her, you took her into a park and to a secluded area where you raped her. There was a degree of planning, albeit there was also an element of opportunism when you found an area where no one was.
“You had been grooming her. She had her own difficulties. You knew that she had not complained when you repeatedly touched her bottom on that first occasion and you thought she would not complain when you raped her on that second occasion.
“You are also still very young. You have the capacity to mature and grow. You were spending a lot of time on your own and you were watching pornography. You may have seen and experienced things which have influenced the way in which you view sex and relationships.”
Judge Brandon said she had seen the youth shaking his head at times while the prosecution counsel was addressing the court and had shown a “desire to control and exercise power over his victim”, adding: “These elements are deeply disturbing. You remain a dangerous young man.
“There has been an escalation in your offending. There is a pattern of behaviour in your case and you continue to show no insight into the impact it has on others.”