A TEENAGE boy who raped a girl against a wall in Bradford city centre while on bail for repeatedly raping a younger child has been sentenced to five years’ detention.

The youth, now 17, was labelled a danger to young female members of the public by Judge Jonathan Rose who imposed a three-year extended licence period.

He had earlier pleaded guilty to three counts of rape of a child under 13 and one offence of raping the second girl after following her from Bradford Interchange and isolating her near the crown court building.

Prosecutor Ian Howard said today that the defendant was 14 when he raped the first girl and 16 when he raped the second one.

He had been arrested, refused to answer questions and was on bail when he struck again last year, Bradford Crown Court heard.

The older girl had walked off and he had followed her and tried to kiss her. She kept saying ‘no’ but he sexually assaulted and then raped her in a secluded seating area.

He was again arrested and had since been remanded in secure accommodation for children.

Mr Howard said a victim personal statement from the first girl spoke of the huge emotional stress, anxiety, sleep deprivation and depression that she had since suffered.

Once happy and confident, she now found day-to-day life very difficult and was uneasy in male company. Her mother described the child as ‘totally broken.’

Fuad Arshad conceded in mitigation that both victims had been left severely psychologically damaged. But he said the teenager was himself ‘highly vulnerable with complex and significant needs.’ Medical experts had assessed that his level of risk was likely to diminish when work with him had been completed.

Mr Arshad said the defendant was working with a psychologist and showing some level of insight into what he had done. His parents were heartbroken by his behaviour and he had shown some semblance of remorse.

Judge Rose said the first girl was a young child in no position to prevent the rapes taking place.

The defendant was on bail facing very serious allegations when he raped the second girl. He targeted her as his victim and when she deliberately walked away, he followed and walked with her to a secluded area in Bradford city centre.

Judge Rose said only a sentence of detention was commensurate with the harm the teenager had caused to his victims. It wasn’t known when the severe psychological trauma suffered by both of them would even begin to dissipate.

Judge Rose acknowledged the vulnerability of the defendant, his age at the time and his psychological issues. He had an autistic disorder that impacted on his social functioning making his insight into his offending limited.

But he must have known he had done wrong when he raped the first girl and yet he went on to attack his second victim while on bail and knowing he was already in serious trouble.

Judge Rose kept an order prohibiting the identification of the defendant in place.