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13-year-old boy appears in court accused of taking part in four-hour gang rape in Southampton

The boy and six other defendants are appearing at Southampton Crown Court

Doug Bolton
Thursday 11 June 2015 11:32 EDT
Derby Road in Southampton, where the alleged incident took place
Derby Road in Southampton, where the alleged incident took place (Google Maps)

A 13-year-old boy took part in the gang rape of a woman that was filmed on a mobile phone, jurors have heard at Southampton Crown Court.

The boy and six other defendants are appearing in court accused of raping a 20-year old woman.

The woman was returning home after meeting friends on 16 January when she went into a subway in Derby Road, near Southampton city centre.

Prosecutor Simon Foster said that it was there the alleged victim met one of the defendants, Mihaita Palie.

The court heard that they then went to a house on Derby Road, where she experienced a four-hour gang rape.

Part of what happened in the house was filmed on a phone by 20-year-old Cosmin Nicut, another defendant.

Mr Foster said the defendants "subjected her to rape and other sexual abuse as described in the indictment."

She left the house, and phoned the police at around 3:15am. The defendants were arrested, and she later gave a three-hour account to police in an interview.

Jurors were warned in the court that they would be shown around 20 minutes of the footage, that makes up a major piece of evidence against the seven defendants.

Mihaita Palie, 33, is charged with rape and attempted rape. Cosmin Nicut, 20, is accused of two counts of rape and one of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent.

Nicolae Ghinea, 21, faces two counts of rape. Radu-Florin Panciuc, 21, and a 13-year-old boy, both face one charge of rape each.

The adult defendants sat in the dock and listened with headphones as the proceedings were translated into Romanian.

The boy sat in another room in the building, present at the trial via video link.

The defendants have denied all the charges. The trial continues.

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