British police said today they had charged a 12-year-old girl with attacking a young boy who was left with serious injuries including marks around his neck following an assault earlier in the week.
Anthony Hinchliffe (5) was found wandering alone and distraught on Tuesday evening near woodlands in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, with injuries to his neck and bruising to his body.
Detectives originally treated the incident as attempted murder but on Friday night charged the girl with inflicting grievous bodily harm and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
The 12-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, will appear at Dewsbury youth court on June 10th.
Originally, five children, all aged 11 or 12, were arrested in connection with the attack but the other four have been released. "Following extensive inquiries West Yorkshire police are no longer looking for any other suspects in connection with this investigation," a police spokeswoman said.
Hinchcliffe's family said he was taken from his mother's back garden and led to nearby woodlands, where he was injured. He was released from hospital on Wednesday.
"This has been a very distressing time for both myself and my family," the boy's mother, Terry Brown, said.