Northern Ireland

Teenager convicted of raping a child

An 18-year old has been banned from working with children and placed on the sex offenders register for five years after he was found guilty of raping a child in the Waterworks area of Belfast.

The accused, who was 16 at the time and studying for his GSCEs, was released on bail ahead of sentencing next month.

Following a week-long trial held at Belfast Crown Court, a jury spent more than eight hours deliberating three charges before returning the 'guilty' verdicts.

During the trial, both the girl and the defendant gave evidence. Both confirmed to the court that they met on Facebook a few weeks prior to meeting in person at the Waterworks in north Belfast on the evening of May 17, 2017.

The girl admitted she lied on her Facebook profile about her age, and also lied to the defendant before they met up, telling him she was 14 when in fact she was 12.

The incident occurred in a wooded area in the park, and while the girl claimed she was dragged into the bushes, the defendant claimed they walked in together.

The girl said he said to her 'do you want to do stuff?', to which she replied 'no', then he took her jeans off and subjected her to a sexual assault.

The defendant was found guilty by a majority of ten to two on a charge of sexual assault, and of anal rape. He was also found unanimously guilty by the jury of vaginal rape.

Judge David McFarland ordered the preparation of a number of reports ahead of sentencing, which is due to take place on March 20.