Teenager charged with raping eight-year-old girl in public park
A teenage boy has been charged with the rape of an eight-year-old girl in a Greater Manchester park.
The 16-year-old boy, whose name cannot be revealed for legal reasons, was reportedly chased off by a member of the public after the alleged rape took place.
Local police responded to the scene shortly before 7pm on Saturday (local time) and arrested the suspect a short time later at a local shopping centre.
Greater Manchester Police urged the public not to speculate over the circumstances of the incident.
"This is in relation to an incident that happened just before 6.55pm on Saturday 24 June 2017 when police were called to reports that an eight-year-old girl had been raped in Nuthurst Park," they said in a statement.
"We are aware of a lot of local speculation regarding the investigation and we would ask that this please stops to allow the investigation and legal process to continue without prejudice."
Inspector Dave Whelan praised the members of the public that allowed police to swoop in and arrest the teenage boy "within 16 minutes of the initial call coming in".
"We treat all reports like this with the utmost seriousness and as such officers swiftly attended the scene and arrested a teenage boy," Inspector Whelan added.
"We would like to thank the local community who assisted in our initial inquiries earlier today."
The teenager has been remanded to appear in custody at Manchester Youth Court on Monday.
