Boy’s rapist at his school

A BOY was forced to share a school with the teen who raped him, after police failed to properly investigate the sex attack.

The boy, who was forced to leave the only school in the small central Queensland town where he lived for fear of his attacker, spent the past year being denied help from authorities because the teen who attacked him was given a caution, rather than taken to court, his mother said.

The mum went online to warn the community her son’s rapist was living in their town after he was dealt with under the Youth Justice Act for charges of raping and sexually assaulting five younger children.

She only found out her son, who was 10 at the time of the attack, was among the victims when a police officer rang to tell her of the investigators’ decision not to go to court.

The teen had been interviewed about the attacks on other children and admitted to raping the boy.

The mother said the attacks had devastated her son, who had made repeated suicide attempts.

The family had moved towns in the hope of leaving the attacks behind them, only to find the teen moved to the same community in October last year.

But because police decided to caution the teen rather than sending him to Children’s Court, his mother said the boy had no access to help.

“(The attacker is) free to walk around, do whatever he wants and my son is trapped at home, can’t get an education, can’t socialise because he is scared, he’s terrified,” she said.

She approached the school to have the pair separated, but it could only offer to put her son in isolation.

In response to a complaint from the mother, the Queensland Police Service admitted one of its officers “failed to continue investigations into your complaint” and had received “guidance” to “prevent a reoccurrence”.

A QPS spokeswoman said the investigation into the sex attacks was closed.