Police officials released a statement, saying that the 12-year-old child, who was not identified due to her age, was rushed to hospital with stomach pains gave birth to her baby a short time later. Prosecutors discovered that the girl was just 11 years old when she was ra-ed. Prosecutors also said the offending came to light when the girl was rushed to hospital in the early hours of the morning suffering with severe stomach pains. Within a couple of hours she had given birth. The court heard a midwife carefully asked the girl whether she had had se* and the youngster replied that she didn’t know. When asked if she had consented she said she thought so but wasn’t sure. Prosecutors also said it was not clear whether the girl realised she was pregnant or not.
She told a midwife she had not known but she was overheard telling other people in hospital that she had known. Prosecutors said that the girl was reportedly ra-ed by her 14-year-old brother in the family home. Prosecutors also said that the siblings were growing up in a dysfunctional household where the parents exercised little control and created a culture of secrecy and lies and where there were blurred se-ual boundaries. The teenage father, who is now 16 and cannot be identified for legal reasons, had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of statutory ra-e when he appeared in the dock for sentencing.
The authorities became involved and the girl’s teenage brother was interviewed by police. He admitted to officers that he had his sibling had been wrestling downstairs on one occasion while their parents were out and they had then gone upstairs to wrestle on the bed as it was more comfortable. He said they had begun kissing before each removing their own clothes and then having se*. The prosecutor said there were no suggestions that any coercion or threats had been involved in the incident. In a impact statement which was read to court the girl said she didn’t want to go home any more and just wanted to live the normal life of a girl her age and wanted her baby to have the best life.
According to the court documents, the background to the offending were the “difficult and dysfunctional circumstances” of the family unit where the mother and father created a culture of “secrecy and lies”. Prosecutors also said it was clear from the numerous reports before the court that the children had been subjected to a “dysfunctional, neglectful, and potentially abusive upbringing” where there was little in the way of parental control or guidance and there were “blurred se-ual boundaries”. The barrister said the defendant had been routinely exposed to po-nography in the family home from the age of 10. The court heard the defendant is now living with foster parents, is responding well to their positive influence, and is remorseful. Judge Vosper made the teenager the subject of a two-year youth referral order with a supervision requirement and an activity requirement. The defendant will be a registered se* offender for 30 months.
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