A TEENAGER has been arrested following an incident where two boys were forced off a bus and made to commit crimes and perform sexual acts on each other.
Detectives from the Sexual Offences Exploitation and Child Abuse Command, investigating the Feb 11 incident, arrested a 14-year-old boy yesterday (Mar 19) after they released CCTV footage of someone they believed was involved in the offence.
The boy was arrested on suspicion of causing a male aged 13 or over to engage in penetrative sexual activity.
He remains in custody at a south London police station.
At approximately 19:55 on Wednesday February 11, two teenage boys boarded a route 133 bus in Brixton and sat on the top deck.
Earlier this week, detectives from the Sexual Offences Exploitation and Child Abuse Command were trying to trace the "man" who got on the bus at this same location and also sat on the top deck.
During the journey the suspect approached the boys and claimed that he had a knife, before threatening them and forcing them off the bus in the Elephant and Castle area.
The boys were led to a park in Newington Butts, where they were forced to fight each other and steal from a nearby shop.
The suspect then led them to the stairwell of a block of flats in Walworth where he forced one of the boys to perform a sex act on the other.
The suspect then walked away from the area in an unknown direction.
Trainee detective constable Amy Beautridge said: "This was a most unusual crime and distressing crime, during which the two young victims were terrified by threats made by the suspect, who intimated he was in possession of a knife.
"He used their fear to control them and force them to effectively do as he said."
Beautridge continued: "Despite their young age, the victims have been incredibly brave in coming forward and providing information to the police and I would praise them for this."
“I am very keen to identify and speak to the person in the CCTV image we have released, and I would urge anyone who recognises him to call the police or Crimestoppers as soon as possible."
She added: “I would also like to reassure anyone concerned about contacting the police that they will be treated with the utmost sensitivity.”