[annouhMus]

Sunday, Aug 26, 2012
The police in Manchester are searching for two men after a 14-year-old boy was raped in a UK department store toilet on a Saturday afternoon.

The boy was in Arndale Centre in Manchester city centre at around 5.45pm on June 2 when he went to the toilet, reported AFP.

"While there, he was approached by two men, one Asian, one white, who stared at him," a Greater Manchester Police statement said.

"One of them said to him 'come with us, do what we say and if you try to run, we'll get you'.

"He was grabbed by the arm, led out of Arndale centre and taken to nearby Debenhams.

"He was then taken by the lift upstairs and was marched to a toilet where he was raped by the Asian man."

The police said the victim, described as "traumatised", reported the incident.

A team of specially trained officers spent the last two months working with the boy to build a picture of what happened.

The statement also said the police were waiting for the results of forensics tests before making their appeal.

Detective Sergeant Liam Boden of North Manchester Criminal Investigation Department (CID) said: "This young victim has been absolutely devastated..."

Shocking

He added: "What makes this incident doubly shocking is that he was marched across a busy part of the city centre during the late afternoon on Saturday."

The police hope other shoppers saw the men and may be able to identify them.

Manchester Central Member of Parliament Tony Lloyd questioned why there had been a two-month delay in releasing details about theattack.

"Everyone knows there are no easy decisions in a case like this, but it really does raise important questions about public safety," he was quoted by the BBC as saying.

"It does seem that the earlier the public are made aware of the danger and the possible identity of the attackers, then the more likely they will be able to prevent future attacks and help the police arrest those involved."

In response, Sgt Boden said that closed- circuit (CCTV) TV images of the suspects were circulated immediately after the offence to businesses and neighbourhood officers.

Police said such attacks were very rare and the police had no other reports of any similar incident since June.

A Debenhams department store spokesman said: "We were shocked to hear about this incident and would like to reassure everyone this is an isolated case."

She said that the store carried out regular toilet checks after the assault and briefed the cleaners to report any suspicious activity.

It has also put the camera of the entrance to the toilets on a permanent monitor in the CCTV control room.