A 16-year-old youth, who is charged with the double rape of a teenage girl in west Belfast, was refused bail in the High Court yesterday after it was revealed there was a serious risk from the community if he was housed in any nationalist area of the city.
A crown lawyer also told the court that a few days after the incident, the accused went on holiday to Tenerife with his family, but he was immediately returned to Northern Ireland after police found the victim's mobile phone and a screwdriver, allegedly used in the attack, in his bedroom.
The youth, who cannot be named because of his age, is also facing four charges of assault, three of false imprisonment, one of grievous bodily harm and one of indecent assault, relating to the attack on the 15-year-old girl and three male friends, in the Blacks Road area on August 6th.
Opposing bail, the crown lawyer told the court that after allegedly indecently assaulting the girl and forcibly separating her from her friends, he took her to the forecourt of a filling station and raped her. A screwdriver was used during the attack.
The crown lawyer said while the attack was happening, a co-accused was allegedly holding back her friends using an iron bar.
One of the boys had his jaw broken after being hit.
The prosecutor told the court that the girl was then brought back to her friends by the accused, before they were robbed of cash, jewellery and their mobile phones.
The boys were also forced to remove some of their clothing to ensure all valuables had been taken.
The crown alleged that the group was then taken to Colinvalley golf course, where the accused again separated the girl from her friends and raped her.
He said one of her friends managed to escape and ran a short distance to his home for help.
Crown counsel told the court that one of the most sickening aspects of the case was that the victim's mother was contacted in England using her daughter's stolen mobile phone.
The crown lawyer said that the accused had been identified by DNA analysis using oral, vaginal and clothing samples.
During interview, the accused denied assaulting or raping the girl, claiming she had consented. He also blamed his co-accused for making the phone calls to the victim's mother.