News

Gateshead child protection committee has launched an inquiry into the case of a 12-year-old boy who became the youngest person to be convicted of rape last week.

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was sentenced to life at Teesside Crown Court for the attack on a teacher during one-to-one tuition.

He was known to Gateshead social services. Area child protection committee chair Simon Hart said the committee was taking the case "very seriously".

He added that "a number of agencies in the region have worked intensively with this boy over the past few years".

Hart said: "At the time of the incident there appears to have been nothing to indicate he was a risk to adults."

An independent barrister will examine the case on behalf of the committee and report in June.