A 16-year-old boy has appeared in court charged with raping an eight-year-old girl in a Manchester park in broad daylight.
The teenager, who cannot be named, is accused of raping the girl on Saturday evening in Nuthurst park, Moston, in the north of the city.
He appeared at Manchester youth court on Monday morning dressed in a grey tracksuit and spoke to confirm his name, date of birth and address. He did not indicate a plea.
He shook his head as the prosecutor read out the charges against him, looking over at his parents who sat with their heads bowed in the public gallery.
The district judge, Mark Hadfield, told the boy the case was too serious to be heard at the youth court. He was remanded in secure custody to appear at Manchester crown court on 10 July.
The boy’s solicitor, Katie McCreath, accepted it was “a grave case”.
The teenager was arrested in a shop near the park on Saturday night after being chased down by members of the public.
He was taken for questioning and charged with one count of raping a girl under 13.
After he was charged on Sunday night, Greater Manchester police said: “We are aware of a lot of local speculation regarding the investigation and we would ask that this please stop to allow the investigation and legal process to continue without prejudice.”
