Sex case challenge

(First Edition)

A BOY OF 14-year-old school boy was convicted yesterday today of indecently assaulting a teenage girl only three days after the same court acquitted him of raping her.

No new evidence on the indecency allegation was brought at St Edmundsbury youth court, sitting at Newmarket, Suffolk, by the prosecution on the indecency allegation, prosecuting counsel Rosamund Horwood-Smart, for the prosecution, who reliedying on the same evidence on which the magistrates hadheard for five days last week and for which they acquitted the boy from Mildenhall, Suffolk, of rape.

Defence lawyers immediately said they wanted the case sent to the Divisional Court of the High Court in London to challenge the decision on the grounds that the magistrates misdirected themselves on the law.

The boy, who was 13 at the time of the alleged offence, was released on bail until today when tomorrow by the St Edmundsbury youth court sitting at Newmarket, Suffolk. The youth court will sit at transfer to Stowmarket today morrow to consider legal issues, including the sentence for the assault.

Mr Geoffrey Wicks, chairman of the court, said that he and the two lay magistrates had found the evidence from the girl about the assault to be 'wholly credible and reliable'.

No new evidence on the indecency allegation was brought yesterday by the prosecution on the indecency allegation, prosecuting counsel Rosamund Horwood-Smart, for the prosecution, who relied ying on the same evidence on which the magistrates had heard for five days last week and for which they acquitted the boy from Mildenhall, Suffolk, of rape.

The case is the third involving an under-age boy accused of rape to be heard by youth courts. One, in the Isle of Wight, led to an acquittal and the other was dropped.

This case has covered hundreds of miles over the past week. It opened in Bury St Edmunds a week ago, moved to Great Yarmouth for three days to allow the girl to give evidence over a video link, then transferred to Newmarket. Tomorrow it sits at Stowmarket.