Police were warned 16 months ago that a 15-year-old boy charged with raping an 84-year-old grandmother could escalate from petty to more serious crime.
The Perth boy is behind bars after the woman was attacked in a home invasion about 5am on October 13, and forced to shower in front of her alleged rapist.
A neighbour caught the 15-year-old Perth boy stealing from his front yard on CCTV several times in June last year and provided the footage to local police.
Police were warned 16 months ago that a 15-year-old boy (pictured) charged with raping an 84-year-old grandmother could escalate from petty to more serious crime
‘I told them they need to do something about him or he will escalate to something else,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.
‘He was only stealing little things like smokes and money and anything lying around out front, but that’s how things start, they start small and grow.’
The creepy CCTV footage showed the boy sneaking around the front yard, hiding behind cars and even crawling on his hands and knees, before grabbing items and running away.
The neighbour said the teenager, who can’t be named, continued to steal from his yard and rummage through nearby cars until he confronted him.
A neighbour caught the 15-year-old Perth boy stealing from his front yard on CCTV several times in June last year and provided the footage to local police
The creepy CCTV footage showed the boy sneaking around the front yard, hiding behind cars and even crawling on his hands and knees (pictured)
He was shocked when he heard the boy was wanted for breaking into the 84-year-old’s house and raping and robbing her, and blames police inaction.
‘I reported him four more times after and said I will keep reporting incidents until they do something, but they didn’t,’ he claimed.
But a law enforcement source told Daily Mail Australia skulking around front yards and stealing small items were the least of his crimes.
The repeat offender was arrested numerous times last year for stealing and once for robbery before being jailed in late 2016.
After release he committed other offences while on parole and was jailed again, and was on parole when he allegedly raped the grandmother.
The boy crawls around the front of the house looking for things to steal
The teen looks up directly at the camera, revealing his face (which can’t be shown since his arrest), before running away
The boy’s older cousin told Daily Mail Australia the alleged rapist was recently released from Banksia Hill Detention Centre after serving time for stealing a car.
The neighbour said he finally had enough and confronted the boy in his front yard, after which he returned with an older brother who was ‘known to police’ to ‘suss the place out’.
They looked around his front door but never came back as they realised they were on camera.
The 15-year-old was arrested about 12pm on October 15 and refused bail the next day to appear in the Perth Children’s Court on November 27.
He is facing seven charges including three of aggravated sexual penetration without consent, aggravated indecent assault and stealing.
A law enforcement source told Daily Mail Australia skulking around front yards and stealing small items were the least of his crimes
The repeat offender was arrested numerous times last year for stealing and once for robbery before being jailed in late 2016
The cousin said the boy was not acting out of the ordinary when they met just hours after the alleged crime and was just happy to be home after serving his time.
‘He was just normal, quite like how he his all the time,’ he said.
The young man who spoke to Daily Mail Australia admitted his cousin had a history of burglaries, stealing from cars and other petty crime.
‘He only does it with other people though, never by himself,’ he said.
‘He’s just in with the wrong crowd and our uncles are known to do that kind of stuff.’
The teenager is pictured (bottom right) looking around the front of the house even in broad daylight
The neighbour said the teenager, who can’t be named, continued to steal from his yard and rummage through nearby cars until he confronted him (pictured)
However, he said the family was shocked when they found out he was wanted by police.
‘He’s just a kid, he wouldn’t do this, he has to be innocent,’ he said.
‘I haven’t known him to be that kind of person, he’s quiet and he’s not even violent to be honest.
The cousin said the boy didn’t go to school and was on welfare, and bounced around the houses of family and friends.
West Australian forensic police at the scene of the attack on an 84-year-old grandmother
Banksia Hill Detention Centre is Western Australia’s only facility for offenders aged 10 to 17
The elderly woman was badly injured and severely traumatised after the attacker broke in while she was sleeping.
She was home alone when the teenager allegedly smashed his way into the house and pinned her to the ground.
Forensic police searched the woman’s home for evidence including her attacker’s DNA.
The woman was taken to Perth’s Fiona Stanley Hospital and later released.
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