Two 14-year-old boys have appeared in court after a serious sexual assault on a teenage girl in County Antrim.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said it happened in Clonavon Terrace, in Ballymena, on Saturday.
Both boys are charged with attempted oral rape and both deny the charges.
They confirmed their names and ages through a Romanian interpreter at Coleraine Magistrates’ Court on Monday morning.
The teenagers, who were sitting side-by-side, appeared by videolink from Woodlands Juvenile Centre wearing grey tracksuits.
A police constable said she believed she could connect the pair to the charge.
There was no application for bail but a defence solicitor told the court that both boys deny the charge.
They were remanded in custody until 2 July when they are due to appear by videolink at the youth court at Ballymena Magistrates’ Court.
On Monday night, hundreds of people gathered in Ballymena at a protest that was related to the ongoing court case.
The crowd of men, women and children gathered close to the town centre and marched along Larne Street and then Queen Street.
