04/03/2026
Three boys aged 12, 13 and 14 r***d a 13-year-old girl near a tram stop in Rochdale, a court has heard.
Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court was told that the alleged attack happened in February 2024 close to Newbold tram stop in Greater Manchester. Prosecutors say the boys took the girl into bushes near a footpath where they allegedly r***d her in turn and recorded part of the incident on a mobile phone.
Because of their ages, the boys cannot be named for legal reasons. Two of the defendants, now aged 15 and 16, are standing trial. The third boy, who was aged 12 at the time of the alleged offences and is now 14, has been ruled unfit to stand trial. Jurors will instead be asked to decide whether he carried out the act and whether he encouraged the others.
Prosecutor Kim Whittlestone told the jury the defendants had only been in the girl’s company for a short time before the alleged attack. She said the girl did not know the boys and was not friends with them.
According to the prosecution, the girl was pushed into bushes and forced into s*xual acts while the boys “took turns”. Whittlestone told the court that the girl had not consented and that it would have been clear to the boys that she did not want the activity.
The prosecution said part of the alleged assault was filmed on a mobile phone and that the footage was later shared between the boys and circulated to others.
Jurors were told that a friend of the girl eventually interrupted the incident. The witness said she heard one of the boys say “let me have a go now” during the alleged attack and also heard the girl say “no” when asked if she wanted to have s*x.
The girl later told police she felt panicked and overwhelmed during the incident, describing it as happening quickly and in a blur. She said she did not know what to do at the time.
Before the alleged attack, CCTV footage shows the girls travelling on a tram and interacting with the boys. After getting off at Newbold tram stop, the prosecution says the girls’ path was blocked and they were manhandled before the alleged assault took place.
The indictment contains five counts of r**e. Three counts relate to individual allegations against each of the boys, while two counts are based on joint enterprise, meaning the prosecution alleges they acted together.
The two defendants standing trial deny the charges and claim the girl consented to some s*xual activity and initiated it. Prosecutors argue that this defence demonstrates the boys understood the concept of consent.
Jurors are expected to be shown a short 10-second video clip during the trial that prosecutors say reflects the attitude of the boys on the night.
The trial continues at Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court.
