A 15-YEAR-OLD boy has been cleared of raping a 13-year-old girl, after a week-long trial at Burnley Crown Court.

The teenager, from Whitworth, was found not guilty of the charge and was discharged from the court by Judge David Pirie. The jury had heard claims the defendant, who the judge earlier ordered should not be named, had pinned the girl down as she sobbed and tried to escape. The youth was said to have put his hand over the complainant's mouth to stop her screaming, pushed her to the floor and told her to shut up during the 10 minute attack at his home in Whitworth. The girl was examined by a doctor who found evidence of sex, but was not able to say whether it was consensual. When the 15-year-old was later arrested and interviewed by police, he alleged the complainant had been fully willing to have sex with him.