A teenage boy downloaded images of bestiality after raping a 12-year-old girl, a court has heard.
Joseph Flynn, now 18, of Vista Road, Newton-Le-Willows appeared at Liverpool Youth Court on Wednesday. Cheryl Mottram, prosecuting, detailed that in early 2021, Flynn was 16 and began to send messages to a then 12-year-old girl.
She said the victim’s mother woke up at 7.45am and noticed a message from her daughter saying she was sleeping over at a friend's house, and when she checked her bedroom, saw that it was empty. Ms Mottram said: “She immediately panicked, as this was out of character for her daughter, so called the police and reported her as a missing person.”
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At 8.20am, the victim called her mother to say she was at her friend’s house, and asked to be collected from a road that her mother did not recognise. After she was collected, her mother asked where she had been and she gave a name that her mother also didn’t recognise, and believed was fake.
Other aspects of the girl's behaviour raised suspicions for her mother, and the 12-year-old disclosed that they had sex and committed sex acts, but she became more and more upset.
She said: “He is going to get mad, he's going to go mad, I am going to have to say sorry to him”.
In interview, the victim detailed that Flynn had begun a conversation with her on Snapchat, and told her he was 16, and she returned by telling him she was 12.
She said she questioned the age gap and if it was okay for them to talk, but he said it was fine. They spoke and Facetimed, and sent messages of a sexual nature, including Flynn asking the girl if she wanted to have sex with him.
Ms Mottram detailed that the girl said she was struggling with her mental health at the time and felt she had done something wrong afterwards by “getting him in trouble”. She also said she was quite clear in her account that at no point did he force her to have sex, and she did say yes to him at the time.
Images of the victim were found on Flynn’s phone, and she said she sent them to him at his request. Flynn was interviewed at the beginning of 2021 and answered no comment to all questions put to him and he was released on bail.
In November 2021, police executed a search warrant at Flynn’s address, where they seized several electronic devices including an Apple iPhone. They found a cache of indecent and extreme images on his phone, including 44 Category A, 10 category B, all of which were videos, and 18 Category C, 16 of which were videos.
One extreme image showing bestiality was also found, and they were accessed between November 2020 and April 2021. He was interviewed in relation to these offences on November 11, and produced a prepared statement where he accepted the images were his, sent to him after he joined a group on Snapchat. He said he believed he had deleted them.
A victim personal statement written by the now 14-year-old victim was read to the court, and detailed her difficulty in coming to terms with the assault. She detailed that she struggles with crowded places, and doing activities alone, but is undertaking therapy to help.
A victim personal statement written by the victim’s mother was also read to the court. She explained how guilty she felt as a mother, and said her daughter was vulnerable due to bullying at school so “was looking for a connection”.
It read: “When I picked her up the next morning I knew that something was very very wrong. Some days it felt like I couldn’t breathe, I didn’t know what to do”.
Flynn pleaded guilty to one count of rape of a girl under 13, three counts of making indecent images of children, one count of possessing an indecent images of children, and one count of possessing an extreme pornographic image displaying bestiality.
Frank Dylan, defending, said his client lacked understanding of sex and consent, and that he needed to be educated. He said that Flynn has been extremely isolated due to this incident coming to light, and that his use of marijuana has exacerbated mental health issues associated with loneliness.
He said: “We accept there is an element of denial but strong motivation to engage with the youth service. He does express concern and empathy and acknowledges wrongdoing and regret for the ordeal of the complainant.”
Mr Dylan said even though recognises that Flynn was assessed as a high risk of reoffending, this could be changed if the youth offenders service worked with him. He added that his client also accepts that as the older person involved, he should have been the one to stop any sexual activity.
Regarding the indecent images, Mr Dylan said the teenage boy viewed them out of curiosity initially, but accepts he did receive some sexual gratification from them. District Judge Clark said: “I think you were a 16-year-old boy that had been sexually active and you set the tone.
“You are more responsible than you make out to the youth offending team. This is an example of you taking advantage of the situation.
“There was a sexual motive and you took advantage of her because you were more experienced and more sophisticated.
“You set the tone, you spoke about sexual activity, you sent sexual images and you received sexual images and you already had images of a sexual nature on your phone.”
Flynn was spared jail and handed a 12 month referral order with the youth offending team, and will be subject to a sexual harm prevention order limiting his access to the internet for five years. He will be subject to notification requirements.
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