London: A gang of 11 youths have been arrested on suspicion of raping a `highly vulnerable’ 43-year-old woman in her home.
Police detained the group of ten boys — some as young as 12 and 13 — and one 15-year-old girl after the victim was attacked in her flat in the Anfield area of Liverpool.
It is thought the gang may have been abusing the woman over a number of days before police were alerted by a suspicious member of the public at 4.20pm on September 24. Officers found her in a `distressed state’ and she was taken to hospital by paramedics.
She is being supported in a safe house away from the area.
Police investigations and forensic examinations confirmed she had been sexually assaulted by a group of males.
The ten boys arrested are an 18-year-old, a 16-year-old, two 15-year-olds, two 13-year-olds and a 12-year-old from Anfield; a 15-year-old from the Walton area, a 13-year-old from the Old Swan district and a 19-year-old from Everton. The 15-year-old girl is from Anfield. They have all been released on police bail pending further inquiries. It is thought other suspects could still be at large and specialist detectives from Merseyside Police’s Matrix Serious Organised Crime unit are appealing for the local community to come forward with any information.
Detective Superintendent Tim Keelan, said: `This was an appalling attack on a woman in her own home and we would urge anyone who has information, which could help us bring those responsible to justice, to come forward.
`It is possible that some of those who were in the flat on the day may have talked to people, including friends or family, about what happened and if they have we would urge them to contact us.’
The crime took place on a street of terraced houses in a deprived area of the city, half a mile from Liverpool FC’s stadium. Reporters who visited the area yesterday were warned to stay away by a group of teenage boys wearing tracksuits.
The area around the stadium has been in steady decline over the last two decades, with many houses boarded up or derelict. Several houses in the roads neighbouring the stadium were bought by the club as part of an expansion plan and have been left empty for years.
Merseyside Police received more than 600 reports of violent crime and sexual offences in Anfield and the neighbouring Everton area between January and August this year.
In July this year, a gang of five boys aged 13 to 19 were jailed for a total of 54 years for chasing a 19-year-old through streets in Anfield and stabbing him to death with a sword stick in a launderette, just half a mile away from the rape victim’s home.
