A fifteen-year-old boy has been convicted of a series of violent and sexual attacks on school girls in Croydon.
The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was convicted at Croydon Crown Court yesterday (Monday, April 12) after pleading guilty to two counts of GBH.
He further pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual assault, one count of assault by penetration, and one charge of common assault. A charge of robbery was left to lie on file.
He will be sentenced on Monday, June 7.
The first victim, aged fifteen, was found injured in Croydon’s Moffat Road at 8.50am on Wednesday, November 4.
She had been approached by a stranger and stabbed in the leg while on her way to school.
Two days later another fifteen-year-old was stabbed in the arm on Friday, November 6, at 8.23am while on her way to school in St Paul’s Road, Croydon.
Fortunately both victims’ conditions were not life-threatening.
Police linked the attacks to four other incidents spanning from November 2019 to October 2020 where teenage girls were approached as they were walking to school and physically assaulted or sexually assaulted.
The boy was arrested at his home in the early hours of Sunday, November 8.
Detective Sergeant Sarah Barrett who led the investigation said: “These incidents caused considerable concern to the local community – all the victims were teenage girls, and apparently chosen at random.
“They were making their way to school when they were subjected to needless and completely unprovoked attacks.
“I am grateful to all of them for their assistance to our investigation.”