A 12-year-old rapist has been spared a custodial sentence after twice assaulting a six-year-old girl.

The boy, who lives on the Suffolk/ Norfolk border, appeared before Ipswich youth court after admitting two counts of rape at an earlier hearing.

Both charges involved forcing the girl to carry out a sex act on him.

The boy was sentenced to a 12-month referral order and also given a 12-month restraining order forbidding him to contact his victim or her family.

In addition he must also pay the girl £300 compensation.

During the boy’s sentencing, prosecutor Simon Newell said one of the aggravating factors in the case was that the boy had told the author of a pre-sentencing report “I don’t care how she feels”, when asked about the impact on his victim.

However, District Judge Celia Dawson told the youngster, who sat alongside his mother and father: “I have read the report and of course it gives me some cause for concern because of your attitude to what you did. I hope in a way that is you trying to be brave and tough things out, and that when you start work with the Youth Offending Team you will begin to think about what you did, about how serious it was, and about how badly this has affected (the girl).

“I hope you are aware if you don’t change your attitude you may have very serious problems in the future.

“What you did was very, very wrong. Indeed you forced her to do something she did not want to do or didn’t understand.”

A statement from the victim’s mother said the girl has been left frightened and very upset by what happened.

The judge told the boy: “That’s an awful thing. She’s only a little girl.”

The court heard when the allegation was made the boy’s parents took him to a police station where he admitted what he had done straight away.

Judge Dawson said she felt it would be wrong to send the boy to a secure youth offending unit as it would put him in the company of older, more sophisticated criminals.