TWO GIRLS were sexually assaulted by three 13-year-old boys during a 20-minute ordeal, the Children’s Court heard yesterday.
The boys, who are now 14 years old, have been charged with two counts of sexual assault of the girls, then aged 13, in April last year.
Judge Bryan Smyth heard an outline of the prosecution evidence to decide whether the case would be kept in the juvenile court or instead be sent forward to the Circuit Court, which has wider sentencing powers.
A detective sergeant said the girls had been out walking when one of the boys took a mobile phone from them. They followed them to get it back and “over 20 minutes, they were sexually assaulted to various degrees by the boys”.
He alleged that the first defendant threatened to kill one of the girls if she told anyone.
This boy’s barrister pleaded for the case to be kept in the juvenile court. He said his client was aged 13 at the time, had no prior criminal convictions and had made admissions. He said the teen had been diagnosed with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).
The barrister said the boy was now taking medication, which had “calmed him down a lot”.
The detective told the court that the second defendant held one of the girls down as the first boy tried to have sex with her, and he pulled off some of her clothing.
Judge Smyth said that in deciding jurisdiction, he had to take into consideration the age and level of maturity of the defendants. He said two of the defendants had lesser roles but refused jurisdiction for all three, meaning they are to be sent forward for trial to a higher court.