From the (UK) Guardian (here):
A 12-year-old schoolboy who raped and sexually assaulted a younger girl after viewing hardcore pornography on the internet has been spared a custodial sentence.
A judge was told that the boy, who is now aged 14, was “emulating” with the nine-year-old victim adult acts he had seen following unfettered access on a computer to explicit websites. The high court in Edinburgh heard that the case could be “the tip of the iceberg” and many others may not have been identified or reported.
The boy’s defence counsel Sean Templeton said: “There is a real risk that young people of the current generation of teenagers are growing up with a skewed view of what sex is and sexual activity.” He said it was a great concern that they may be getting their sex education through pornographers. He revealed that during a police interview the accused child was asked why he had done it and his answer was: “Temptation.” When questioned about the temptation he responded: “To feel grown up.”
“This was an emulation of an adult act witnessed by him at this young age,” said the defence counsel. “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 hardcore pornography.”
Read the full story here.
-Bridget Crawford
