A SCHOOLBOY has been cleared of raping an 11-year-old girl in an alleyway in Folkestone.

The 14-year-old, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, threw his head back and breathed a heavy sigh of relief when the jury at Maidstone Crown Court returned its verdict.

He then smiled as he looked over at his relatives sitting in the public gallery. One, believed to be his mother, was crying.

Throughout his trial, the boy had sat beside his solicitor and not in the dock. The judge, barristers and court officials all removed their wigs and gowns.

It was alleged that he raped the girl, now aged 12, in March. The pair had been on the swings in Dallas-Brett Park before walking together to her friend’s home.

In a TV link interview the girl, who also cannot be named, told the court the boy had put his hand down her trousers and touched her intimately as he tried to get his mobile phone off her. She added that as they walked together she fell over and he put his hand tightly over her mouth. She then alleged that he raped her in the alleyway.