Two 10-year-old UK boys arrested for alleged rape of girl aged 8

October 29, 2009

Two ten-year-old boys have been arrested after the alleged rape of an eight-year-old girl in London, England. The family of the unidentified eight-year-old girl called the police after she had come home telling her mother about the incident which she said had occurred in a park in the town of Hayes in the London Borough of Hillingdon, at around 1400 GMT on Tuesday.

The boys, whom the girl purportedly did not know, live near to her and were arrested on suspicion of rape, being over the age limit for criminal responsibility. A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said that the two boys had been arrested and questioned. They were later released on police bail until middle November 2009. The crime case is currently being investigated by "Project Sapphire", which is a specialist rape unit set up in Scotland Yard.

One neighbour, who asked to remain unknown, stated, "The little girl was playing on her own when the two boys came up to her and enticed her to where they keep the bins between the flats. There haven’t been many children around here all week and now the children are being kept inside by their parents because of what has happened. It is very quiet. On Tuesday lunchtime I looked out of my window when I heard a noise and saw about 30 police officers running around to seal off the park but forensics officers only got here today."

38-year-old mother Daniella Gordon also commented on the situation. "My three-year-old goes to the nursery by the college, the police haven’t told me or other mothers what has happened which I think is wrong. It makes you think of the James Bulger case and there are lots of kids around here, that’s what disturbs me."