The alleged attack took place near a Morrison’s supermarket
A teenage boy has denied taking part in the alleged gang rape of a girl in woodland near a tram stop, insisting any sexual activity with her was “100 per cent” consensual.
The three boys, who were aged 12, 13 and 14 at the time and cannot be named for legal reasons, are accused of raping the 13‑year‑old in bushes off a footpath close to the Newbold tram stop in Rochdale.
Jurors have previously been told that the boys “took it in turns and swapped positions” during the incident in February 2024. Part of the alleged assault was filmed on a mobile phone and later circulated among the group and others, prosecutors say.
All three boys deny the charges as two of them, now aged 15 and 16, stand trial at Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court. The third, who is now 14, has been deemed unfit to stand trial, jurors were told as the case was opened, reports the Manchester Evening News.
The eldest defendant gave evidence on Tuesday (March 10), stating he had been “running around” with his friends on the day the incident is alleged to have taken place. When asked by his barrister, Rachel Shenton, the 16-year-old described them “joking around town” before encountering other kids at the tram stop.
Asked if he recognised the alleged victim and her friend, he said he had “more than likely probably seen them” before, but that he didn’t know them.
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The court was told how they had boarded the same tram during a short journey to Newbold, during which there was “talking and flirting”. The alleged victim’s friend had reportedly said that the alleged victim “liked” his co-defendant, resulting in a chat about “who fancied who”, he said.
“I asked (the alleged victim) did she like me and she said yes,” the boy told the court, adding that there was then a “conversation about s******g”. He said they “all agreed” to go the bushes and that the alleged victim “suggested we go and get some condoms,” but that they had told her they didn’t have any money and that she said it was “okay to do it without”.
He continued to say the alleged victim had “voluntarily walked into the bushes” and “she went first”, claiming she began performing a sex act on his co-defendant before then doing the same to him.
“Did (the alleged victim) say or do anything to suggest she wasn’t agreeing to that?” Ms Shenton asked him. “No, it was 100 per cent willingly,” he answered. Asked if anything was stopping her from leaving the bushes, he said: “No, she could have got up and walked out.”
The defendant explained that he then attempted to have intercourse with her. “Would it be fair to say you were not very successful at that?” Ms Shenton asked. “Yes,” he replied.
“It was my first time,” he told the court. “Did you know what you were doing in terms of sex? Did you know how to have sex?” Ms Shenton asked him. “No,” he said.
The incident continued for around “six or seven minutes”, according to the boy. “Did you believe she was consenting?” Ms Shenton asked. “Yes,” he replied. “Would you have done any of these actions if you felt she wasn’t consenting?” she continued. “No,” the boy answered.
He said that “both” him and the alleged victim were “moving around” during the encounter, and that he was the first to leave the wooded area as his “phone had died” and he had to “rush home”.
When leaving, he did not think he had done anything wrong, the court heard, eventually arriving home, eating a sandwich before heading back out. “If I thought I had committed an offence I don’t think I would have gone back to the town,” he said.
The boy then asked his co-defendant to send him a Snapchat video of the incident, which had been filmed. “Did you believe that was a video of the rape of the girl?” Ms Shenton asked him. “No,” he said, continuing to describe feeling “happy” about losing his virginity.
Although the boy said he now felt ‘very ashamed’ about the incident, because I am getting blamed for something I didn’t do,” he claimed.
“What do you think about what you did do?” Ms Shenton asked him. “I didn’t do anything wrong,” he said. “I don’t know why I’m in this situation, to be honest.”
The 16-year-old told the court he had left school early, never receiving any sex education, but had been “brought up to be respectful” to women. “Did you gang rape (the alleged victim)? Ms Shenton asked him. “No,” the boy replied. “Is that ever something you would do?” she asked. “No,” he replied.
He told prosecutor Kim Whittlestone, under cross-examination, that, whilst on the tram, he had asked the alleged victim if she wanted to “s**g” him and that she had said “yes”.
“Did she appear to want to s**g you?” prosecutor Whittlestone asked him. “Yes,” the boy said. “Did she appear to want to be in your company?” she asked. “Yes,” he replied.
“Did you think it was slightly odd that you were going to have sex with her in the bushes?” Ms Whittlestone asked him. “No” he replied, adding “I wouldn’t think it was odd if she agreed to do it,” when quizzed on it being his first time having sex.
He was “not clear” about the precise events in the bushes, the court heard, but denied that the girl was “being told what to do.”
“What did you think about it being recorded?” Ms Whittlestone asked him. “I didn’t really think about that,” he said. “It got shared with me but I didn’t share it with anyone else,” he said of the footage.
Previously, Ms Whittlestone said the now 14-year-old has been found unfit to stand trial. She said the jury would be asked to find “whether he did the act” and whether he “encouraged” it to happen without the girl’s consent.
The indictment contains five counts of rape. Three counts relate specifically to each boy, while two are charged as ‘joint enterprise’, jurors were told. Each boy denies the charges they face. The trial continues.
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