Archive · 28 Nov 2025
Northern Ireland drops charges in case sparking riots
In Northern Ireland, two teenage Romanian boys were arrested for allegedly trying to hurt a teenage girl.
This made some people very angry, and they started riots and hurt other people who came from different countries.
The boys were kept in a special place for kids who do bad things for more than five months.
But now, the people who decide if someone is guilty or not said they can't prove the boys did it.
So, they let the boys go.
The police will keep looking to find out what really happened.
Charges against two Romanian teenagers for attempted rape were dropped due to new evidence.
The case sparked anti-immigrant riots in June, including attacks on police and migrants' homes.
The boys, aged 14, were held in juvenile detention for over five months.
Prosecutors stated the new evidence did not meet the threshold for prosecution.
Police will continue investigating the incident to ensure justice.
- Who
- Two 14-year-old Romanian boys and a teenage girl
- What
- Charges of attempted rape dropped due to new evidence
- When
- Charges dropped on Friday (specific date not mentioned)
- Where
- Ballymena, Northern Ireland
- Why
- New evidential developments made prosecution not viable
- Location
- Ballymena, Northern Ireland
- Date of Incident
- June 2023
- Charges Dropped
- Attempted rape
- Age of Accused
- 14 years old
- Duration of Detention
- Over 5 months
- Reason for Dropping Charges
- New evidential developments
- Prosecution Service
- Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland