A MAN is on trial accused of raping a young boy a decade ago when he was a teenager.
Daniel Butterworth, 28, is on trial at Reading Crown Court charged with one count of rape and one count of attempted rape which are alleged to have occurred between December 17, 2021 and December 16, 2012.
The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, first reported the alleged offences in August 2020. He said he was ‘too young’ when the alleged offences occurred but that now he’s older he feels ‘able to speak out’.
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Butterworth, of Hamilton Court, Newbury, denies the offences and claims the boy has ‘hostility towards him’.
At court on Monday (November 6), a jury heard that Butterworth, while in the same bed as the boy, had allegedly exposed his penis to him and told him to ‘suck it’ before attempting to push the boy towards him.
Reportedly, the boy said no and pulled away and the pair went to sleep. That was the charge of attempted rape.
However, it is the Crown Prosecution’s case that later in the evening the boy was awoken by the defendant raping him.
The boy told police he had allegedly told Butterworth to stop and tried to force himself away but to no avail.
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It is then alleged that the defendant only stopped when the boy threatened to tell his father.
The boy told police his father was asleep on the sofa at the time of the incident and that his mother was not in the house.
It is purported that there was another incident where Butterworth had grabbed the boy’s shoulders on a different occasion but the boys grandmother called for him. He believes this prevented him from another alleged assault.
The boy first told his family and police about the purported offences in October 2020. He also subsequently emailed a teacher to explain what happened to him after the school had become concerned about why his behaviour was deteriorating.
In October 2020, the boy had a recorded police interview where he talked about the alleged offences in detail.
He said: “I remember the day like it was yesterday.”
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Butterworth attended a voluntary police interview on November 26, 2020. He told police he had slept on the sofa the night of the alleged incident and denied all the allegations.
It was then he alleged the boy had some hostility towards him.
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