Supermarket rapist sentenced

A teenager who raped an 11-year-old girl in the toilet of a busy supermarket has been sentenced to nine years' detention.

The 15-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, attacked the girl at a Sainsbury's store in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, on 2 March, Coventry Crown Court heard. Judge Marten Coates, who described the rape as humiliating and degrading, also sentenced the teenager to four concurrent 18-month custodial terms for other more minor sex attacks committed in the town.

Judge Coates told the youth that the rape had been aggravated by the fact that the slightly-built victim had been "abducted" from her mother while she was visiting the usually safe environment of the store.

"You seized her from behind and, with her eyes and her mouth covered by your hands, you dragged her to a toilet cubicle," he said.

The youngster, who was also ordered to register as a sex offender for life, had admitted rape and four counts of sexual assault at a previous hearing.