A 15-year-old boy has denied sexual offences against eight girls, including the alleged rape of a 10-year-old girl. The teenager, who cannot be identified because of his age, pleaded not guilty at Northampton Crown Court to 22 offences related to incidents alleged to have occurred between 2023 and 2025.
Charges and Court Appearance
The alleged victims were aged between 10 and 15 at the time, as previously heard in a youth court. The defendant was not asked to enter the dock on Friday and was arraigned from a seat at the back of the courtroom, accompanied by his mother.
The boy is charged with one count of rape, rape of a child under 13, and assault by penetration. He also faces 12 counts of sexual assault and three counts of sexually assaulting a child under 13.
Additional Allegations
He is accused of two charges of creating an indecent image of a child, one count of possession of a prohibited image of a child, and one of possession of an extreme pornographic image. The court was told that some of the sexual assault allegations involve the defendant touching the girls over and under clothing, including slapping one of them on the bottom.
One of the indecent images charges is related to the alleged possession of three category C images of children, according to the court.
Trial Date and Bail Conditions
Judge Rebecca Crane, who did not wear a wig or robe for the hearing, informed the defendant that his trial will commence on October 25 next year. She stated the trial is anticipated to last three to four weeks.
The boy was given conditional bail, with instructions not to make contact with the alleged victims and witnesses, to avoid unsupervised interaction with girls under 16, and to engage with the Youth Justice Service.
