Teenager raped boy days after judge set him free

LONDON (Reuters) - A "devious and manipulative" teenager who raped a five-year-old boy just days after being allowed to go free following a previous attack, was locked up for an indeterminate period on Wednesday.

The 16-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to a catalogue of abuse against the five-year-old victim, including rape and child abduction.

The attack happened just eight days after he was given a three-year community order in June for the rape of a seven-year-old boy in Tameside, east of Manchester.

The original sentence provoked outcry from the victim's family at the time and a legal challenge.

At Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court on Wednesday, the teenager was detained indefinitely for the public's protection with a minimum sentence at least three years.

"The offences you have committed are deeply disturbing and very serious," Judge Peter Lakin told him.

"You are a devious and manipulative young man with an unhealthy and completely unacceptable sexual interest in young boys. It is likely you will not be released for some very considerable period of time."

The youth had lured the boy, now 6, to his home on the pretext of helping to look for a lost football and attacked him.

"You took away his innocence. What you did has had a devastating effect upon the boy and his family," he said.