A 15-year-old boy accused of 22 sexual offences against eight girls, one of whom was just 10 years old, has appeared before magistrates at Wellingborough Youth Court.
The teenager faces charges of rape and sexual assault against eight victims aged between 10 and 15 at the time of the alleged incidents. The youth, who cannot be named owing to his age, faces 22 charges relating to alleged offences committed between 2023 and 2025.
Court hearing details
During the brief 20-minute hearing on Tuesday, he was not required to enter any pleas. Seated at the rear of the courtroom alongside his mother, he was not called to the dock.
The boy faces 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. He is further charged with one count of assaulting a female aged 13 and over by penetration with a part of the body or thing, one count of raping a girl aged 13-15, and two counts of creating an indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of a child.
Additional charges and bail
Additional charges include possession of a prohibited image of a child and possession of extreme pornographic images.
District Judge Amar Mehta addressed the boy directly, stating: "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 has been ordered to appear at Northampton Crown Court on August 18. He was granted conditional bail, with conditions prohibiting contact with the alleged victims, preventing unsupervised contact with girls under 16, and requiring him to work with the Northamptonshire Youth Justice Service.
The teenager only spoke to confirm his name, date of birth and address, and to ask the judge about the Youth Justice Service.
