13-year-old girl’s rape claim was talk of the school, court told

RAPE claims against a 13 year-old boy were the talk of kids at the school where the sex attack is alleged to have happened, a court heard.

But a jury at the High Court in Livingston was told that more than a month passed before the authorities were told.

The parent of a 13-year-old girl informed the school after her teenager daughter told her about the scandal.

The mum, a 45-year-old warehouse assistant, said she quizzed her daughter because she seemed “upset and confused”.

She said: “I knew something had been bothering her for quite a wee bit. Her two friends were saying two different things and she didn’t know what to do, but at 13 none of us would know what to do.”

The woman immediately contacted the school and told teachers that second year pupils had been discussing “an allegation of a serious sexual matter”.

Giving evidence on the second day of the trial, her 13-year-old daughter admitted that the rape allegation had been “the talk of the school” for weeks.

She told how she had noticed that something seemed to be wrong with her 13-year-old female friend several days after the alleged incident.

She said: “I went up and asked her in class because she was my friend. That’s when she told me. She was upset and went outside.

“I was very angry and spoke to (the accused) about it. I asked him if he raped her. He said ‘no’ and got all confused, upset and angry. He was like ‘no, no, I never’.

She identified both the accused and the other girl on CCTV footage showing the entrance to the staff disabled toilet at the Edinburgh high School where the alleged offence took place.

But when she saw the accused take the girl by the hand and her apparently resisting she said: “He’s pulling her in!” and turned to stare at her friend in the dock with a look of shock on her face.

The 15-year-old accused, from Edinburgh denies raping the girl twice during the alleged incident and has lodged a special defence of consent.

He was aged 13 at the time and cannot be identified for legal reasons.

A retired schoolteacher who did supply work at the school at the centre of the allegations gave evidence that he had tried the door of the disabled toilet while the couple were inside.

Under cross examination by defence solicitor Paul Haran the 58-year-old agreed that any sounds of distress or noises which suggested there were two people in the toilet would have ‘”triggered his alarm”.

He said: “If I’d heard something in the toilets that caused me concern or any noises that were unusual, I’d have done something about it.”

He was not contacted by the police but had been traced as a witness by the defence.

Detective Constable Graeme Templar, 29, said the accused had given a “no comment” interview after his arrest on the advice of his solicitor.

When shown stills of the CCTV footage showing him pulling the girl into the toilet by the wrist he was asked if he wanted to say anything.

He replied: “She’s just as strong as me so she could just…” before his lawyer interrupted.

The boy was formally charged with rape and released into the custody of his mother. He made no reply.

Advocate depute Alison Di Rollo formally closed the Crown case this morning.

The trial continues.