A 15-year-old boy accused of sexual offences against eight girls, including one aged 10, has appeared in court. The teenager, who cannot be named because of his age, faces 22 charges relating to alleged incidents between 2023 and 2025.
Court Appearance
Wellingborough Youth Court heard the boy is charged with rape and sexual assault against eight victims who were between 10 and 15 years old at the time. During the 20-minute hearing on Tuesday, he was not asked to enter any pleas. Accompanied by his mother, the youth sat at the back of the courtroom and was not asked to enter the dock.
Charges
He stands accused of 12 counts of sexually assaulting a female, three counts of assaulting a girl under 13 by touching, and one count of raping a girl under 13. Additionally, he is charged with one count of assaulting a female aged 13 and over by penetration, one count of raping a girl aged 13-15, and two counts of creating an indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of a child. He also faces a charge of possessing a prohibited image of a child and another of possessing extreme pornographic images.
Case Sent to Crown Court
District Judge Amar Mehta told the boy: 'Your case is too serious to be tried in this court. Therefore it's going to be tried at the crown court at Northampton. I'm going to send your case to Northampton Crown Court for another hearing similar to this one.' The teenager was instructed to appear at that court on August 18.
He was given conditional bail, with instructions not to contact the alleged victims, to avoid unsupervised interaction with females under 16, and to liaise with the Northamptonshire Youth Justice Service. The teen only spoke to verify his name, date of birth and address, and to inquire about the Youth Justice Service.
