Brighton Youth Court
The case was heard at Brighton Youth Court. Google maps

A 12-year-old boy repeatedly raped his four-year-old half-sister whilst playing hide-and-seek then bribed her to keep quiet with a bag of Skittles, a court was told.

The boy, who is now 13, appeared at Brighton Youth Court on Wednesday (16 August) where he admitted raping and touching the child inappropriately.

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The next day he was found guilty of a second count of rape after another hearing. Both the victim and the defendant have not been identified due to their ages.

District Judge Teresa Szagun said that that the boy had a large stash of pornography on his mobile phone and the court heard how the girl, who is now five, told her mother of the assault while she was in the bath.

The mother of the girl broke down in tears as she described what her daughter had told her.

She said according to the Daily Mail: "She said to me "mummy I want to tell you something". She didn't normally say things with such an introductory manner.

"She wanted to tell me. It was something important to her. She said it happened while they were playing hide and seek."

The mother told how the girl gave harrowing details of at least two occasions she was raped and a further sexual assault.

"She said he offered her sweeties to do this. She said she didn't like it but she liked the sweeties," the woman told the court

"I said to her liking sweeties was perfectly all right but he should never have offered her sweets to do something like that.

"She said "he made me like Skittles". She was clearly cross about that. I said to her "why didn't you tell mummy?" and she said "he told me not to"."

The boy now faces the possibility of a severe custodial sentence as the court waits for the results of assessments by youth psychiatrists and youth offending experts.

They must decide how dangerous the boy is to the public and if he knows the difference between right and wrong.

Szagun said: "I'm sure what she described is accurately what happened to her. The way she spoke was very factual and articulate.

"She was able to tell me about those experiences very well. What she describes was you making her take off her skirt and pants, telling her not to tell, it was a secret, giving her sweets."