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'He's a different person now'

Boy, four, ‘sexually assaulted in his school toilets by a gang of ten-year-old lads’

The youngster's furious parents yesterday blasted police and teachers after they were told the case was being dropped

The distraught youngster told his parents that he was attacked by three Year Six boys

A BOY of four was allegedly sexually assaulted in his school toilets - by a gang of ten-year-old lads.

The distraught youngster told his parents that he was attacked by three Year Six boys when he popped to the loo at lunchtime.

 The distraught youngster told his parents that he was attacked by three Year Six boys
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The distraught youngster told his parents that he was attacked by three Year Six boysCredit: Getty Images

Cops took his clothes for forensic testing, interviewed him in a specialist evidence suite and quizzed the older boys.

But the youngster's furious parents yesterday blasted police and teachers after they were told the case was being dropped.

His mum said: "Our understanding is that each of the three boys blamed the other two.

 Cops took the child's clothes for forensic testing and interviewed him in a specialist evidence suite
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Cops took the child's clothes for forensic testing and interviewed him in a specialist evidence suiteCredit: Getty Images

"How can they say there is no case to answer if there are three versions of what happened?"

They have now moved their son to another school and are demanding the police look again at the case.

Their son told them he been attacked just a few weeks after starting at the Nottinghamshire school.

His mum said: "He told us over tea when I asked him how school had been.

"He said a dinner lady sent him to the older boys toilets. I thought it was a bit of an odd thing to say so I started asking him more questions and it all came out.

"He said that while he was having a wee three older boys were making fun of him, saying he wasn't going to the toilet properly.

 After a six-week investigation Nottinghamshire Police told the family the case was being dropped due to a lack of evidence
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After a six-week investigation Nottinghamshire Police told the family the case was being dropped due to a lack of evidenceCredit: Alamy

"He then said that one of them smacked his bum while two others committed a sexual assault on him.

"Another boy was in a cubicle and he came out and told them to leave him alone.

"The day after the incident he was really upset and didn't want to go to school. He was crying and has begun wetting the bed which he hadn't done for ages.

"We were horrified when he told us.

"He told me and his dad separately but he told us identical versions so we were sure he was telling the truth.

We were horrified when he told us

"We called the police straightaway and a woman officer came out that night.

"He was in bed by then so she didn't speak to him but we passed on what he had said. She took his clothes away for testing but we were told later that that never happened.

"A few days later he was interviewed at a specialist suite with a social worker present.

"We weren't allowed in but when they came out it was clear that they believed him. They said that four-year-olds don't lie about stuff like that.

"It would be an an odd thing to make up, especially at four.

"We kept our son off school from the moment he told us what happened because the teachers couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't cross paths with the other boys."

After a six-week investigation Nottinghamshire Police told the family, who can't be named for legal reasons, the case was being dropped due to a lack of evidence.

The mum said: "The police won't give us all the details but as far as we are aware the boys all blamed each other.

";All three said they were at the door and it was the other two who did it.

 The boy's parents are now keeping him away from the school (file picture)
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The boy's parents are now keeping him away from the school (file picture)Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd

"That's odd because if nothing happened they would have said: 'I don't know what you are talking about.'

"The police said that the boys' stories are slightly different but none of them match what my son said so they don't believe there is enough evidence to prosecute.

";But surely if their stories are different you would go back and re-question them.

"And why didn't they test my son's clothing for evidence? I don't know if that is a cost issue but you would think that if they had taken them away they would test them.

"I have lost all faith in the police and in the system. The police have not supported us, they have not kept us informed about what is happening.

Surely if their stories are different you would go back and re-question them?

"My son is just four, he's still a baby really and the way they have treated him and us is appalling.

"I'm not satisfied with their decision to drop it and want them to look at it again.

"The worry is that if this did happen in the way my son said then these boys are only ten and have done something horrific - but what they are capable of when they are older?

"There are serious safeguarding issues at that school and we don't feel comfortable leaving my son there so we have moved him to a new school.

"He is a different person now - he is scared and crying and wets the bed.

It is just awful."

A police spokeswoman said: "We take reports of this nature very seriously and investigates them thoroughly.

"We have to be absolutely satisfied that all lines of inquiry are exhausted in order to understand exactly what has happened when allegations are made.

"Where a case isn't progressed to court officers work with schools, partner organisations and family to ensure appropriate safeguarding measures and support is in place for all those involved."