[A] BOY accused of involvement in a “pack” sex attack on a teenage girl has admitted to jurors he lied to police – but insisted: “I didn’t rape her.”
He is one of four teenage schoolboys on trial at Carlisle Crown Court. All aged under 16, they each deny two rape allegations, and further deny an additional sexual assault on the female. The prosecution allege they “gang-raped” a 15-year-old girl in a Workington field in darkness on January 3.
In court today (TUES), the final three boys gave evidence to a jury of seven women and five men.
One admitted telling “quite a lot of lies” to police when quizzed. He initially denied having sex with the girl before admitting he did. “I told lies in my interview because I was scared and under pressure,” he said.
He also admitted deleting texts from his phone after the incident.
On the night, he said, as they walked with the girl: “I asked (her) if she wanted to have sex.” He continued: “She just said ‘yes’.” They later did so in the field, he confirmed.
His barrister, Claire Larton, asked: “Did (she) give you any reason to think that she wasn’t consenting?” The boy responded: “No.”
During cross-examination, he stated: “I didn’t rape her.”
Another boy insisted he had consensual sex with the girl. He was asked by prosecutor Tim Evans: “Isn’t the truth of it this; that you and your friends all raped the girl down on that field?” The boy replied: “No.”
This afternoon, the fourth boy gave evidence and told jurors the girl had asked him if he wanted to sex. “I said yeah,” the boy stated.
However, he accepted he lied to police by saying he had not had sex with her.
The trial continues.