A 14 year old boy was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment on Friday for the rape of a woman in St Albans.

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was 13 at the time of the offence which happened on December 5 2010, at Batchwood nightclub.

The court heard how the offender attacked the victim, once inside the club and once outside.

Det Insp Steve Keating, from the Sexual Offences Investigation Unit, said: “Firstly I would like to commend the bravery of the victim for reporting the attacks and allowing us to bring this boy to justice.

“The offender targeted a vulnerable woman who had been separated from her friends and subjected her to a horrendous and terrifying ordeal.

“Crimes of this nature can have a lasting and detrimental effect on victims in so many ways. We understand if you have been subject to this type of crime it is not always easy to contact police. I hope that this sentence shows that we are committed to fully investigating crimes and bringing offenders to justice.”

The boy was issued with a Sex Offenders Prevention Order and instructed to sign the sex offenders register.