Peckham teen raped boy, 13, for 'having a poor phone'

A teenager raped a 13-year-old boy he had intended to rob and then told him he deserved it for not having a phone worth stealing, a court heard yesterday.

The 15-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was sentenced to four years detention after previously pleading guilty to two counts of rape at Inner London Crown Court.

The would-be robber took his victim to the top floor of a block of flats in Peckham, south London, raped him and then slapped him in the face.

During the attack, the complainant repeatedly begged for his attacker to stop because it hurt, the court heard.

He replied: "Good, that's what you get for not having a good phone. I'm going to scar you for life."

The attack took place on the Yellow Brick Estate on 14 January, prosecutor William Eaglestone told the court.

It began when the 15-year-old, who was 14 at the time, approached the boy at a bus stop while he was on his way back from school.

He asked where he lived, where he went to school, whether he was in a gang and if he had a phone.

When the boy replied he did not have a phone, he was told to go into the block of flats so he could be searched.

After taking him up stairs to the top floor, his attacker began saying "weird stuff" and grabbing him.

Telling him to "do it like a girl", the defendant ordered his victim to remove his boxer shorts and raped him.

Before letting him go, he hit the younger boy in the face and said he would come after him, ordering: "Don't watch who I am".

Asked later by police how scared he had been on a scale of one to 10, the victim replied 10.

When he got home, the boy was crying and got in the bath.

His brother asked what was wrong but got no response.

"His mother came home and saw him in the bath," Mr Eaglestone said.

"She kept asking what was wrong and the victim finally said 'Don't tell anyone, I have been raped'."

In a statement read out to court, the boy's mother said that the rape had changed not only her son's life but that of the whole family.

"My son has changed from being bubbly and lively into a shy and withdrawn young boy - it breaks my heart," she said.

"I don't understand that this could happen because our family believes in peace - we are God fearing people."

Explaining that she had "lost faith in society", she explained that the boy had since been bullied and changed school.

She also said he had stopped washing in a bid to make himself "unattractive".

Judge Roger Chapple, sentencing, told the defendant that his offences had been "dreadful" and the effects on his victim "profound".

"You were apparently punishing him (the victim) for not having a mobile phone you could steal from him," the judge said.

"A quite sad and disquieting theme that has run through this case is the power, control and domination you sought to exercise over your victim and your apparent wish to degrade him.

"When he told you how much you had hurt him you expressed satisfaction and threatened to scar him for life."

A decision on whether to lift an order granting anonymity to the defendant was postponed to tomorrow morning.

The defendant has a previous conviction for possession of cannabis and had been reprimanded for carrying a knife.

Jeannie Mackie, for the defence, said that her client was "buzzing" when the offences happened.

Speaking outside court, Detective Inspector Jackie Wakeford-Smith said justice had been served.

"For someone so innocent and pure, it is just the most inhumane thing to do to another human being," she said.

"It is important for anyone who has been the victim of such a crime to come forward to make sure that these things do not go unreported.

"There are agencies that work with us to support victims of sexual attacks.

"Support networks are in place to help you - please don't suffer in silence, come forward."

Additional reporting by PA