Aug 22 2012
Police have issued CCTV images of two men who are wanted for questioning after a 14-year-old boy was raped in a department store toilet.
The boy was targeted at around 5.45pm on Saturday June 2.
He was in the Arndale centre in Manchester city centre, near the entrance of Aldi and Subway, when he went to the toilets. While there he was approached by two men, one Asian, one white, who stared at him. One of them said to him: "Come with us, do what we say and if you try to run we'll get you."
The teenager was grabbed by the arm, led out of the Arndale centre and taken to nearby Debenhams. He was then taken by the lift upstairs and marched into a toilet where he was raped by the Asian man. The traumatised victim contacted the police and has been supported by a team of specially trained officers.
Those officers have spent the past two months working with the victim to build up a picture of what happened and have been waiting for forensic results before deciding to issue an appeal, said a Greater Manchester Police spokesman.
Police have now issued CCTV stills of two men wanted in connection with the incident.
Detective Sergeant Liam Boden, of North Manchester CID, said: "This young victim has been absolutely devastated by what happened to him. As a result we have ensured that he has been supported by officers who are trained in dealing with victims under this type of terrible circumstances.
"What makes this incident doubly shocking is that he was marched across a busy part of the city centre during the late afternoon on Saturday. However, this means I am confident that shoppers may have seen the offenders either before or after the incident.
"I want people to take a good look at the men in these images and tell me who they are."
Anyone with information is asked to call North Manchester CID on 0161 856 3240 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.