How trainers helped snare teenage rapist

A PAIR of trainers recovered after a group of boys were subjected to a terrifying robbery helped crack an unsolved rape case.

When a group of five 14-yearold boys were threatened during a robbery at the Arndale car park in the city centre, one boy was told to hand over his expensive pair of trainers.

The shoes he was given in return by a 16-year-old robber were then DNA tested by police, and found to match a sample collected by officers investigating a horrific city centre rape.

The 16-year-old was later convicted of rape by a jury, and sentenced to six years in a young offenders institution.

Now he and another 16-yearold boy, neither of whom can be named for legal reasons, have been sentenced for their part in the robbery.

Manchester Crown Court heard how the gang approached the group of friends, all aged 14, in the NCP car park.

They had gone to the top floor of the car park in February last year to get a good view to take photos of the city centre, to post on their social media accounts.

One of the boys was asked if they knew the time, before one got out their mobile phone which was then stolen.

The boys were then separated and individually targeted for their valuables, prosecutor David Bentley said.

During the incident, the boys all had their iPhones stolen, as well as cash and items of clothing.

At one point, one boy had a knife put to his throat, and another had a blade put to his stomach.

The boys were warned if they called the police, their houses would be burnt down, they would be shot and killed and their families would be harmed.

The victims were later able to identify the defendants on Facebook.

During the robbery, one of the defendants demanded that one of the boys hand over his expensive pair of trainers.

His pair of trainers, given to the victim in return, later linked the defendant to a then unsolved rape case. Months earlier, he had raped a ‘drunk and vulnerable’ university student in the Northern Quarter, after stalking the woman in her 20s through the city centre.

Later, he was sentenced to six years in a young offenders institution.

Now, the boy has been sentenced for the robbery and will serve an additional 18 months.

The other boy, also 16, was sentenced to an 18-month detention and training order.

Both pleaded guilty to four counts of robbery and one count of attempted robbery.

Other members of the robbery gang are still at large.

Sentencing, Judge Alan Conrad QC said: “The boys were terrified.”