Children as young as ten are being arrested on suspicion of rape – as fears are raised that online porn is twisting youngsters’ views on sex and relationships.
Figures obtained by the Daily Mail show that 24 police forces arrested youngsters under 13 for suspected rape in the past year, while seven detained at least one ten-year-old.
Last year, a total of 357 children aged 18 and under were found guilty of a range of sex crimes including rape and sexual assaults on other children.
Controls
The figures come as David Cameron is to announce plans to toughen controls on internet pornography.
As part of the proposals, anyone buying a new computer or signing up with a new internet service provider will be asked if there are children in the household.
Those who answer ‘yes’ will automatically be guided through the process of installing anti-porn filters.
Case
One case shown in the findings involved a boy of twelve raping a nine-year-old neighbour because he had seen hardcore pornography online.
The NSPCC warned about the link between children carrying out sexual assaults and easy access to online pornography.
Jon Brown, a spokesman for the charity, said it gave youngsters a “distorted picture of what sexual relationships should be about.”
Sexualisation
And John Carr from the Children’s Charities’ Coalition on Internet Safety said: “There is already a widespread feeling that the internet is playing an unhealthy part in the early sexualisation of children and these revelations about the arrests of ten-year-olds for rape will add fuel to the flames.”
In September, a petition signed by over 110,000 people was handed in at 10 Downing Street calling for ISPs to have an automatic block on porn – adults would have to opt in to access explicit material.
Statistics show that one in three under-tens have seen pornography online, while four out of five children aged 14 to 16 say they regularly access explicit images on PCs at home.