The boy, who can’t be named for legal reasons, committed the crimes between the ages of 10 and 12. He admitted to counts of sexual assault, rape and attempted rape.
He was accompanied to court by social workers and employees of the children’s development centre where he is currently living.
It was revealed that the boy had been abused physically and emotionally and that his crimes were, disturbingly, a means of satisfying his emotional needs. The boys defence, Elen Owen, described the case as ‘extremely sad.’
The judge sitting on the case, Niclas Parry, said that the schoolboy had been brought up in ‘a home that was clearly without sexual boundaries.’ It was also claimed that the boy had witness his mother having sex with her partner whilst living with her. Coupled with the viewing of extreme porn, it became clear to professionals and to the court that the youngster had no knowledge of what was considered ‘normal.’
Throughout the case it was believed that the boy’s mother was aware that he had been accessing indecent images for hours at a time but chose to ignore what was happening.
Judge Parry insisted that despite the nature of the crimes usually deserving a lengthy prison sentence, he believed that it would benefit the youngster to receive help rather than cause him harm, and in turn become more harmful to others.
The boy has since been placed on the sex offender’s register. The judge said that the young victim would require ‘a great deal of work’ in order to move forward with her life and that it would take time for her to comprehend the gravity of what had happened to her.
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