Teen Leeds rapist with 'mental age of 10' avoids being locked up
His victim was initially too embarrassed to tell anyone
A teenager who raped a girl has been spared custody after it was heard he has the mental capacity of a 10-year-old child.
Aryan Mahmood was convicted at the youth court of raping the victim and sentenced at Leeds Crown Court this week.
It was heard that he was 15 or 16 when the offence took place.
Mahmood, now 18, had been at the victim’s home and began to touch her thigh, but she told him to stop.
He then forced himself onto the terrified girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and raped her.
Prosecutor Eleanor Mitten said the victim was too embarrassed to tell anyone what had taken place.
The allegation came to light months later when she finally told her mother.
Mahmood was arrested and during his his police interview said it had been a consensual encounter.
Mahmood, formerly of Royal Park Grove, Hyde Park, and now of no fixed address, has one previous conviction for two offences - robbery and possession of a bladed article.
Mitigating, Lucy Brown said that despite being a teenage child at the time, Mahmood had the cognitive ability of a much younger person.
She said he had a difficult family life, having lost his parents at a young age.
She said he had not re-offended since.
Judge Neil Clark gave him a two-year sentence, suspended for 18 months, and ordered he complete 25 rehabilitation days with probation.
He was put on the sex offender register for 10 years.