A 16-YEAR-OLD girl was knocked to the ground and raped by a boy whose advances she had spurned at a party, a court heard.

The girl told her 15-year-old attacker — whose identity was yesterday protected by a judge — that she was not interested when he initially approached her.

But when she left to walk home, he followed her down an alleyway, pushed her to the ground, then attacked her, Bolton Crown Court was told.

The boy was convicted of raping the 16-year-old girl following a trial in December last year.

Yesterday, Judge Timothy Clayson sentenced him to three-and-a-half years detention.

The court heard the girl left the party in Tonge Moor shortly after midnight, one evening in November, 2008.

Geoff Whelan, prosecuting, told the court that the girl, although not seriously physically injured, continues to suffer psychologically.

He said she had lost her job and was lonely and scared.

“The upset and sadness is still there. She doesn’t see any normal future,” said Mr Whelan.

David Morton, defending, said the boy continues to deny committing the rape. He described him as being socially isolated due to suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome and reports have placed him below average in language skills.

Judge Clayson told him: “You are a rather naive and shy young man. Nonetheless, when it comes to interacting with girls of your own age you have a tendency to be dominant and pushy.

“Obviously you were sexually attracted to her and disinhibited to a certain extent by the alcohol you had taken. You left behind a victim who was badly affected by what you did.”

The boy will spend half his three and a half year sentence in custody and the remainder on licence.

An application was made by The Bolton News for legal restrictions on identifying the defendant to be lifted, but this was refused by Judge Clayson on the basis of the boy’s age when he committed the rape.