Boy, 12, to face trial accused of sexually assaulting and wounding a woman in her 60s
The boy appeared in court on Tuesday
A 12-year-old boy accused of sexually assaulting and wounding a woman aged in her 60s will face trial in October this year, a court has heard.
The youth was not asked to enter any pleas to the charges and unrelated allegations of intentional strangulation and theft during a video-link appearance at Birmingham Crown Court.
The boy was charged by police last month with attacking a woman who was in a serious condition in hospital after being found injured at an address in Birmingham.
Judge Simon Drew KC further remanded the boy into secure accommodation after a 20-minute hearing on Tuesday.
The boy, who cannot be identified in media reports due to his age, was not required to speak during the hearing, which was watched by his parents from the public gallery.
Adjourning the case after hearing legal submissions from prosecutor Michelle Heeley KC and defence lawyer Sukhdev Garcha, Judge Drew ordered a plea and trial preparation hearing to take place in August.
The judge said of the plea hearing: “It seems to me in the circumstances that he ought to be at court for that hearing.”
It was also ordered that either one of the boy’s parents or another appropriate adult should be allowed to sit next to him at court, outside of the dock.
The judge added: “The next hearing that I can definitely say will take place will be on the 13th of August and the case will be listed for trial on October 5th.”