A 15-year-old boy who raped a woman twice in her own home after climbing through a window has been sentenced to seven years and two months. The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared at Coventry Crown Court, where he was also given a restraining order and placed on the sex offenders register.
Night-time attack in Nuneaton
The court heard that on the night of April 28 this year, the teenager climbed through a window of a property in Nuneaton. He ransacked the downstairs looking for valuables before going upstairs, where the victim was asleep in bed with her young daughter.
Prosecutor Theresa Hunt, KC, said: "The victim woke, it being, the middle of the night, in the early hours, to find him (the teen) standing in her bedroom, wearing a balaclava. Plainly terrifying for her."
He said 'Ssh'. And the victim initially believed she must be dreaming. and turned around to go back to sleep. She then heard him say, 'Give me your keys'.
Threats and the rape
She replied that she does not drive, at which point he said: 'Give me your money'. She stated she did not have any money, only £3 in loose change. She tried to call the police, but he spoke to her during this and said to her 'Your daughter' - she took this to be words of warning.
"She was terrified. She believed that he may have a weapon. She had no idea who he was or his age. He wearing a balaclava, it being the dark of night, and she having no idea how he'd react, if she did not comply."
The teenager led the woman out of her bedroom and into her daughter's room. "She said that she was terrified," Miss Hunt said. "She did not want to go into her daughter's bedroom with him.
"But the fact that he had said 'Your daughter is here' caused her to think that she would rather allow him to hurt her than risk him doing anything to her young daughter."
The prosecutor said the woman stated: "I'm scared. I do not want to do this. It was her ongoing thoughts of the presence of her daughter that caused her to feel she could not risk antagonising him. So she was compliant with his demands."
He raped her twice before fleeing the property via the back door, and it is alleged he defecated in her garden before changing his clothes.
Aftermath and further crimes
The victim was too scared to call the police, and was too scared to go downstairs initially. But when she did, she found that her home had been ransacked, Miss Hunt said. "Every single cupboard door was open. Items were strewn everywhere." She eventually reached out to her mother before contacting the police.
Following the rape, the teenager then went on to break into another house nearby, where a family with children were asleep, and stole the keys to a Peugeot car. He also took £50 in cash as well as an engagement ring.
The court heard mitigation that the teen had endured a traumatic childhood, was at risk of human slavery and also had undiagnosed special needs, including ADHD and Autism as well as learning difficulties. There was a suggestion that childhood trauma and the absence of a male role model in his life had also been contributing factors.
Sentencing
Judge Tom Rochford rejected claims made that the boy was being coerced by another person to carry out the crimes.
"There has been severe psychological arm to your victim, and, indeed, severe harm to her daughter as well." the Judge said.
"A double rape, to some extent, constitutes additional degradation and humiliation. The incident was prolonged, a sustained incident, and there was forced and uninvited entry into your victim's home, and your victim is particularly vulnerable due to her personal circumstances, being alone in the house, asleep, at night, with a [young] daughter."
The boy was sentenced to a total of seven years and two months for all of the offences, alongside a restraining order, and has been placed on the sex offenders register.
The Judge told the boy: "I hope that the time you spend being detained is time that will enable you to reflect on what you've done and to reflect on how your life needs to change moving forward."
