Schoolgirl gang-raped by five men as she walked home when she was 13 but was left so traumatised she didn't tell anyone for three years

• Girl, 13, was attacked in an alleyway and dragged into a nearby field
• Police release e-fit of the main suspect in the 'terrifying assault'
• Victim was attacked as she walked home in Rayleigh, Essex, in 2011
• She was so traumatised she could not tell her mother for three years
• Mother then urged the schoolgirl to tell police of the attack

A 13-year-old girl who was gang-raped by five men was left so traumatised by the ‘terrifying assault’ that she could not tell police or even her own mother for three years.

The schoolgirl was attacked as she walked home through an alleyway and was dragged into a nearby field where she was assaulted.

The five male attackers, who were all described as being between 25 and 35 years old, struck as the girl walked through the narrow path inRayleigh, Essex, at around 9.30pm on February 24, 2011.

However, the young victim had kept a three-year silence about the attack before telling her mother who urged her to report the case to the police.

Detective constable Danny Cooper said: 'This was a terrifying assault by five men on a girl who was aged 13 at the time.

'She was traumatised and remained scared of the men until she found the courage to tell her mother what had happened.'

Specially trained officers from Essex Police’s Sexual Offences Investigation Team have now interviewed the victim and released an E-fit of one of the main suspects.

DC Cooper added: 'We want to hear from anyone in the area of the Birds Estate who has any information about this incident or from anyone who can identify the man in the E-fit who was the main perpetrator.

'He is described as being white, between 5ft 8 to 9in tall, with thick dark-coloured eyebrows and pronounced jawline and cheek bones. 

'At the time he had spikey gelled hair.'