Teenage boy from Gainsborough area committed sex attacks on girls as young as five

The boy, who cannot be named because of a court order, carried out separate attacks on a five year old and an eight year old as well as a further assault on 14 year old girl after the pair “skived off” from lessons at a school in the Gainsborough area.

Caroline Bradley, prosecuting, said the boy indecently touched the five year old who went on to complain to her mother what had happened. Police were called in and the boy was arrested. He went on to admit playing hide and seek with the girl but denied any sexual assault took place.

As a result the boy, then aged 14, was released on bail but went on to commit a further offence against a 14-year-old girl.

Miss Bradley said the girl agreed to “skive off” lessons with the boy but after they went to a field he sexually assaulted her before kissing her and running off.

“The girl said she had been shocked at what happened and just froze.”

The boy was arrested but denied anything untoward happened with the girl and was bailed again.

Miss Bradley said the boy carried out further sex attacks on an eight year old girl which led to him being remanded into a secure unit.

But while at the unit he indecently touched a female member of staff while they looked at a catalogue and discussed Christmas presents.

The boy, now 15, admitted a total of seven charges of sexual assault on dates between May and December 2015.

He was given a two year youth rehabilitation order with supervision and a six month local authority residence requirement which means he will have to live at a specialist unit.

In addition he was given a prohibited requirement activity banning him from unsupervised contact with children under 16 and placed on the sex offenders’ register for 30 months.

Judge Simon Hirst said that the sentence reflected that the boy had already served the equivalent of an 18 month custodial sentence while being held in secure accommodation awaiting his court hearing.

The judge added: “I must and do bear in mind that the aim of the youth justice system is to prevent offending by young people.

“But for the fact that you have served the equivalent of an 18 month sentence, I would not be imposing this sentence.”

Alison Summers, in mitigation, said that the proposed order would give the youth offending team that time they needed to work on rehabilitating the boy.