A young man from Ilkeston has been sentenced to six-and-a-half years in a young offender’s institution after being found guilty of rape and sexual assault against two teenage boys. The offences happened in separate parks in the town, one towards the end of 2024 and the other in the spring of this year.
During a trial at Nottingham Crown Court, jurors heard how Anthony Lanchester, 20, of Stringer Close, targeted his first victim as the boy walked home from a fair. He dragged him into a secluded area of a park and raped him.
While on bail for that attack, Lanchester went on to sexually assault a second teenage boy in a different Ilkeston park.
Victim impact statements read out in court described the emotional toll on both boys.
The first victim said he felt “dirty inside and out” and feared being judged by others, adding that the experience had left him feeling ashamed and run down.
The second teenager said he had been anxious about coming to court because it “brought it all back”.
Judge Mark Watson acknowledged the seriousness of the offences and the lasting effect on the victims.
Alongside the custodial sentence, Lanchester was handed a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order, placed on the sex offender register for life, and given restraining orders preventing any contact with the victims for five years.
Lanchester, who was 19 at the time of the offences and had no previous convictions, was described by his defence barrister as an isolated young man with “childlike qualities”. The court also heard he had witnessed domestic violence as a child.
Both victims have been granted lifetime anonymity.
