A boy of twelve raped and sexually assaulted a nine-year-old girl after viewing online pornography – in a case that has been described as the “tip of the iceberg”.
Yesterday the Scottish court dealing with the case was warned that there is a “real risk that young people are growing up with a skewed view of what sex is”.
And a children’s charity called for stricter curbs on kids being able to access pornography.
Real risk
The boy at the centre of the case pleaded guilty to one charge of rape and two charges of sexual assault earlier this month.
Yesterday the High Court in Edinburgh decided not to send him to jail, instead handing out a four year supervision order which means he will be closely supervised by social workers.
The boy, who is now 14, had “unfettered” access to the internet and told police that he carried out the acts “to feel grown up”.
His defence counsel, Sean Templeton, said: “This was an emulation of an adult act witnessed by him at this young age.
Responsibility
“He was afforded unfettered access to the internet and it has become apparent from a very young age, the age of 12, he was accessing hard-core pornography.”
Mr Templeton cautioned: “This is the tip of the iceberg. Many, many cases throughout the country may not be identified, not reported, not coming to anyone’s attention.”
Anne Houston, chief executive of Scottish charity CHILDREN 1st said: “It’s everyone’s responsibility to protect children and young people from the potential risks.”
Block
“Internet providers play a huge role in supporting families to achieve this and we would support recent calls for them to block inappropriate websites unless an adult has legally opted in to view content.”
She also commented that “young people and their families must be aware that even if it feels like a virtual world, the internet has real-life consequences”.