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Rape inquiry is scaled down

15/12/2006

DETECTIVES have scaled down an investigation after rape claims by a 13-year-old girl were withdrawn.

The teenager told police she had been followed by a man who dragged her into an alleyway and carried out a sexual attack, near Half Acre Lane, off Bury Road.

She contacted the police and claimed she had been assaulted shortly after leaving a garage in Bury Road on Sunday afternoon.

But police found no forensic evidence, witnesses or CCTV images to back up her complaint and the girl has since withdrawn her original claim.

Detective Chief Inspector Jeff McMahon, who has interviewed both the victim and her family, said: "We are still investigating the possibility of a statutory rape, but not an attack carried out by a stranger in the street.

"I am keen to point out that the girl in question is still a victim of a crime and we are still investigating what has happened to her.

"However, I would like to reassure the public that we are not hunting for the man whose description was previously issued in the media. We do not wish to cause the community any concern."