Children Committing Sex Crimes At Record Rate after Having Minds 'Warped by Porn'

Children Committing Sex Crimes At Record Rate after Having Minds 'Warped by Porn'

Hundreds of children in Britain have been arrested for rape as hard-core internet pornography has become more prevalent, says the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). In the Greater Manchester area alone, 215 children aged 15 or under have been arrested since 2009, with some of them as young as eight, according to the Daily Mail.

The NSPCC has expressed horror at the figures, and says that they are linked to the ease with which children can access hard-core pornography through modern technology. In the past, it was almost impossible for children to get access to hard-core pornography as they would have to go into a specially licensed shop to buy it, and would be required to prove they were over 18.

Today it is far easier to gain access to hard-core material online, even sites that require payment will offer some material for free as a sample. The concern is that children are being exposed to these images and videos at a much younger age, warping their view on sex and relationships.

Jon Brown, head of the sex abuse unit at NSPCC, said: “It’s deeply concerning that such a lot of children are committing sexual offences, including serious assaults and rape.

“For very young children, such as those of primary school age, we have to explore and understand the environment in which they are growing up in that has led to them behaving in this way. It could be that they have seen sexual activity that they are just too young to understand and are copying what they’ve seen.”

Brown also fears the growth of home made pornography, distributed by teenagers through ‘sexting’, sending sexual content via mobile phones. Even though the teenagers have produced it themselves it is still illegal as it depicts children under the age of 18. In some circumstances, young people will be prosecuted for possession of this type of material.

The figures from Greater Manchester Police show that less than twenty percent of those arrested were charged, whilst ten children escaped with just a final warning. The equivalent of a caution when prosecution is not deemed to be in the public interest.

Whilst children have always committed sexual offences – often out of naivety about the significance of their actions – these rises will cause concern amongst parents and education professionals. 

So far the government’s response is to begin the process of filtering all material to British households that do not tell their internet service provider not to censor their content. However, this approach is seen as draconian and very often young people are far more adept at getting around content bans than their parents, or the government give them credit for.

The private sector are proposing more parental locks, and their systems are becoming more sophisticated but still suffer from similar weaknesses to those proposed by the government.

In March Breitbart London reported new research that suggested 44,000 children a month were accessing hard-core pornography via the internet.

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.