Newborn baby is treated after man charged with rape of a child

A TWO-week-old baby alleged to have been the victim of a rape attack remains in intensive care.

The newborn from Annalong, Co Down, had initially been treated at a hospital in the Southern Trust area before later being transferred to the Royal Victoria Hospital for Sick Children in Belfast.

A spokesman for the Belfast Trust declined to give an update on the condition of the child, while a Southern Trust official said it would be “inappropriate” to comment due to the ongoing police investigation by detectives from the PSNI serious crime unit.

A 25-year-old man, charged with rape and grievous bodily harm in connection with the alleged attack on September 29, is currently in custody on remand at Maghaberry Prison after a hearing at Armagh Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

The accused, who remained impassive throughout the short hearing at which no application for bail was made, will appear at Newry Magistrates’ Court via videolink on October 10.

Such is the level of widespread revulsion stemming from the young age of the victim, the PSNI was forced to warn the public via social media yesterday not to name the alleged perpetrator on social media.

The defendant cannot be named in order to protect the identity of the child. PSNI officers in the Newry, Mourne and Down District – which covers the area where the baby is from – said yesterday on its Facebook page that if comments appear anywhere on social media identifying the alleged defendant it could prove to be prejudicial to legal proceedings.

Stressing they acknowledged that it is “extremely emotive incident”, the PSNI said in a stern post that “justice will not be able to be fully served if social media comments spiral out of control”.

Referring to a murder trial being dismissed in the UK in recent years due to social media comments, the post stressed that to ignore its warning could result in the PSNI taking legal action against Facebook users.

“Naming the suspect will give their defense counsel an opportunity to taint any future Jury trial. Sharing, commenting or liking a post naming the individual will give defense counsel an angle,” it said.

They were joined by officers in Craigavon who also ordered social media users to adhere to the court order which prohibits the accused from being named.

“If you breach that you could be committing an offence. If this collapses down the line due to something you’ve done in anger now, you better believe you’ll be looked at,” the post warned.

Meanwhile, independent councillor Henry Reilly, who lives in Annalong, said local people are reeling from the shocking news.

“The whole area is in deep shock. People in the community are really, really angry,” he said.

‘The area is in deep shock. People are really, really angry’