Teenager jailed for raping seven year-old boy in Lennoxtown graveyard

A teenager who raped a seven year-old boy after bosses at a secure residential unit allowed him to leave has been sentenced to 28 months detention.

The 16 year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pretended to be a police officer before attacking his victim in a graveyard in Lennoxtown, East Dunbartonshire.

He went on to choke his terrified victim and warned he would kill him if he told anyone about the abuse.

The attack took place after it was decided to allow the teenager, who was supposed to be monitored round the clock, out unaccompanied for two hours each day.

Yesterday at the High Court in Glasgow the teenager was sentenced to detention and also ordered to be monitored in the community for four years after his release.

Outside the High Court in Glasgow the young victim's 54-year-old grandmother hit out saying: “I'm absolutely shocked at how low this sentence is. He should have got at least five years. It's like a kick in the stomach for my grandson and the family.

“My grandson has a lifelong sentence hanging over him. He has nightmares because he is scared. He has got no confidence. He used to be such a confident wee boy.

“How are they going to monitor the accused after he gets out, they never managed before.”

A family friend added: “The accused smirked at us as he was led away to the cells. He won't even be 20 when he finishes his sentence.”

Judge Lord Burns told the 16-year-old: “You are assessed as very high risk of committing sexual offending in the future. You raped a seven-year-old boy at a time when you were being carefully monitored.

“You demonstrated a high degree of cunning and deception to carry out appalling abuse of this young boy when you knew you were only released for a couple of hours.”

Lord Burns backdated the sentence to June 29, last year and placed the teenager on the sex offenders' register.

The High Court in Glasgow heard that the teenager has been held in another residential unit, but continued to be disruptive. He has assaulted staff and female residents and made sexual remarks while there.

He will serve his sentence in a young offenders' institution.

The teenage pled guilty to the rape which took place in June last year.

The decision to give the teenager unsupervised release for two hours each day happened just weeks before the attack, despite him inappropriately touching a 16 year-old boy in November 2017.

He had previously been placed under the round-the-clock watch by an organisation called Care Visions in a residential unit close to where the attack occurred.

Prosecutor Stewart Ronnie said: “Given he had now reached 16 and that for the previous three months there were no reports of sexualised behaviour, it was decided he be given two hours a day unsupervised time to himself.”

This allowed him to prowl in the grounds of a local primary school around 6pm on June 14 and attack his victim.

The teenager - who had to be “contactable” by phone - claimed he was going to a library, but instead watched a group of boys playing football.

When one of them lost his phone the 16 year-old pretended to be a policeman and stayed with the seven-year-old claiming he would help him find his phone.

The accused then took the young boy to a deserted graveyard and sexually assaulted him.

Defence counsel Sean Templeton said: “The accused accepts there will be a degree of supervision on his release and he accepts that."