Boys aged 10 tried to rape girl, 8

The pair, both then 10, lured the girl into a block of flats in London before subjecting her to a sustained attack in a stairwell, a lift, a bin shed and a field.

The case has provoked an outcry over the way children are handled by the legal system, with experts claiming they were too young to understand the proceedings of an adult court.

A judge at the Old Bailey yesterday ordered the boys to sign the sex offenders' register but admitted he was "not quite sure how it applies to children of this age".

Mr Justice Saunders said: "There is little I can say which would make either parents or boys feel better but the welfare and best interests of the children have a high priority in any sentencing procedure.

"These cases are not easy. Fortunately, they are infrequent."

The register is full of paedophiles and rapists whose contact with children and vulnerable people is controlled.

If the boys had been younger than 10, they would have been too young to be charged. The youngest person convicted of rape is thought to be 12.

The boys were both 10 in October, last year, when the girl told her mother they had assaulted her in Hayes, west London.

Despite a teacher for the older boy saying he was a model pupil who exhibited no sexual behaviour, he and his friend took the girl to the flats.

At one point, the girl told the court they threw her scooter into a bush and refused to retrieve it unless she did what they said.

The jury cleared them of two rape offences each but found them guilty of two charges of attempted rape.

Defence lawyers argued the boys were being naughty or playing an age-old game such as doctors and nurses.

There was no medical evidence to show the girl had been sexually assaulted but the judge refused their pleas to throw the case out even after the girl admitted she had not been truthful about some of her evidence.

He said it was the jury's job to decide if she could be trusted and said she had had been consistent in what she told police and doctors after the incident.

The boys showed no reaction as they were remanded on bail for eight weeks for reports.

They had sat next to their mothers and solicitors during the two week trial.

Although allowances were made for their ages, there are concerns they could not follow proceedings.

Felicity Gerry, a barrister and author of the Sexual Offences Handbook, questioned the decision to take the boys to court.

"One might think they would benefit from good social intervention rather than prosecution," she said.

The girl, clutching a teddy bear, gave a police interview on video and was cross-examined by barristers through a video-link in court.

Alison Saunders, chief Crown prosecutor for London, defended the decision to go ahead with the trial.

"Any case involving young children is always difficult and calls for the most sensitive handling.

"In this case the allegations made by the young girl were very serious. The decision to prosecute was not taken lightly. She had given a clear and compelling account to the police. She has the same right to the protection of the law as an

adult.

"The CPS was determined that these young defendants should have a fair trial and every effort was made to that end."

NSPCC lawyer Barbara Esam said: "Sadly, we still have a way to go to make sure courts work in the best way for children – both defendants and witnesses."

The reports from social workers will look into aspects such as parental control and psychological issues. The judge could make a Care Order which would see the boys taken into secure accommodation.