A TEENAGER has been found guilty of raping a 14-year-old girl while she slept.

The boy, who was also 14 at the time of the offence, denied one count of rape and one count of sexual touching. He was found guilty of both charges following a two day trial at Basildon Youth Court, sitting at Basildon Magistrates Court.

The offences took place on two separate occasions in February last year.

During the trial, the court heard the boy, now 15, had an alibi for the dates the girl initially gave to the police.

Phone records show he had called police following a row with his parents. He claimed his dad has assaulted him at the family home on Canvey - an accusation which was disputed by his mother as she gave evidence during the trial.

The teenager then stole his dad’s bank cards and used them to spend almost £600 on a trip to London - buying alcohol from a pub and a hotel room for him and a friend.

Despite his alibi, district Judge John Woollard ruled that the traumatised victim could have got the dates of the offences mixed up. She reported the incidents to the police “much later” after they took place.

He said: “The victim strikes me as an honest, trustworthy and reliable witness.

“She has not changed her story throughout the trial and even corrected the prosecution when they got information incorrect.”

He added that there was no motive for her to lie.

Both offences took place while the victim, from Pitsea, was asleep in the living room of a house.

Giving evidence behind a screen on the first day of the trial, she told how she begged the boy to stop assaulting her. After the rape he got up and left the room, leaving her crying on the sofa.

She told the court she felt “disgusting” and “heartbroken” after the incidents.

The boy will return to court to be sentenced on Friday, April 28.