A TEENAGE boy has been charged with rape after impregnating an 11-year-old girl, police said yesterday.

The 15-year-old boy, from Edinburgh, is scheduled to appear before a judge in July, Lothian and Borders Police said. He is believed to have had sex with the girl after spending a drunken evening with her and her friends in Edinburgh last August.

The girl, who is eight months’ pregnant and likely to become Britain’s youngest mother, said that she was “really excited” about having a child. Although she is believed to have consented to intercourse, the boy is accused of statutory rape because she was younger than 16. He will appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in July. He made a court appearance in February.

Although sources said that it was uncertain whether the case would proceed to trial, the age of the girl and her pregnancy are likely to count against the boy. The girl, who is now 12 and lives with her family in a council flat in West Lothian, said: “We didn’t use a condom, but I didn’t think about getting pregnant. I wasn’t bothered at the time. He knew it was my first time and I was nervous, so he asked me if I was all right.”

She added: “I slept with him because I was drunk and because I wanted to. I don’t regret it, because if I hadn’t had sex with him I wouldn’t have had my baby. I think I’ll be able to cope as I’ve had lots of practice looking after my brothers.”

One of her brothers will become an uncle before his first birthday. The girl’s mother, 34, who has five other children, said that she was proud of her daughter. She said: “I’m not ashamed of my daughter for what she’s done — in fact, I’m proud of her for keeping her baby. I know she’s worried about what other people will say but she can walk out there with her head held high.”

The girl smokes 20 cigarettes a day and admits that she has been smoking since she was 9 and drinking since she was 10.

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