Fingerprinted and checked for DNA...the ten-year-old 'bullying victim'

Rhoanne Perkins went to the police station with her mother to give a statement after reporting the alleged attack by a classmate. But instead of treating her as the victim, officers read the schoolgirl her rights as if she was a criminal, her mother Vicky said.

Mrs Perkins, 34, said the attack was the fourth on her daughter by the boy, ten, or his brother, 11, in the last year.

'My daughter has been left traumatised by this and is too scared to go to school,' she added.

'Yet she is being treated like she's the criminal. They asked Rhoanne if she wanted a solicitor and she looked at me blankly - she didn't know the meaning of the word.

'As far as we were concerned we were going to make a witness statement about what happened so I didn't think a solicitor was necessary. Then they started reading Rhoanne her rights. It was like something out of The Bill.

'After asking her about what happened the officer took her fingerprints and a mouth swab for the DNA.'

Police can keep DNA samples from juveniles for five years if no charges are levelled.

The alleged attack in July happened as Rhoanne played football with friends on playing fields near her home in Ilkeston, Derbyshire.

The boy grabbed the ball so she took his hat, allegedly prompting him to push her to the floor, where he punched and kicked her. The brothers attended the same school as Rhoanne - although one left for secondary school this summer.

In March, Rhoanne was allegedly attacked by the elder brother on her way home from school so severely that a motorist stopped her car to drag him off.

The Perkinses reported that attack to the police. He was later given a final warning, a reprimand similar to a caution used for young children where charges are not deemed appropriate.

They said Rhoanne was punched by the younger boy on two further occasions, which were not reported to police as his mother said that she would deal with him.

Rhoanne said: 'It should be the other boys who are in trouble. I can't understand what I have done.'

The mother of the boys, who does not work, told the Daily Mail her sons have learning difficulties. But she denied that they had attacked Rhoanne.

'He was play-fighting with another boy on the playing fields', she said. 'Then Rhoanne got involved and starting hitting him. I called the police because she assaulted my son.' Derbyshire Police confirmed Rhoanne had been interviewed as a result of the boys' mother's complaint.

A spokesman said: 'Both children were invited for interview voluntarily. We have a duty to investigate every complaint we receive and at present, those inquiries are still ongoing.'

It is procedure to take fingerprints and DNA from those questioned in relation to an alleged crime, he added.