Teenage boy held over ‘attempted rape of eight-year-old girl’
Written by News on 25/06/2017
A teenage boy has been arrested on suspicion of the attempted rape of an eight-year-old girl in a Manchester park.
Officers were called to Nuthurst Park in the suburb of Moston at 6.55pm on Saturday shortly before the suspected offender was chased off by members of the public.
A search took place and the youngster, thought to be around 14 or 15, was held in a nearby shop in Nuthurst Road.
He is being detained on suspicion of attempted rape and remains in custody for questioning, Greater Manchester Police said.
The victim is receiving support from specially trained officers.
The force called for calm and appealed for any witnesses to get in touch.
Inspector Dave Whelan said: "I know this incident has understandably caused a lot of unrest in the local community, particularly among those who were in the nearby area at the time but I want to assure everybody that we have launched a full investigation.
"We treat all reports like this with the utmost seriousness and as such officers swiftly attended the scene and arrested a teenage boy within 16 minutes of the initial call coming in.
"We would like to thank the local community who assisted in our initial enquiries earlier today.
"Local residents may notice an increased police presence in the area so if you have any information about the incident or concerns that you wish to raise with officers, then I would encourage you to either approach them directly or call police."
(c) Sky News 2017: Teenage boy held over ‘attempted rape of eight-year-old girl’
