More than 1,000 children, as young as seven and eight, have been accused of serious crimes in the United Kingdom over the past three years, shocking figures reveal. But none of them have been prosecuted because of their age.
All suspects are reportedly under the age of 10, including several boys who have been questioned by police authorities on suspicion of rape in Manchester, UK MailOnline reported citing data released under Freedom of Information laws. Similar cases have also emerged in North Wales.
In Manchester, a 7-year-old boy was accused of raping a girl under the age of 13, and an 8-year-old boy was accused of raping a girl under 16. Last year, a rape claim was registered wherein the accused was a 6-year-old boy at the time, although the case is believed to have been carried out more than 40 years ago.
In North Wales, two 9-year-old boys were also accused of rape within the past two years. Thirty-one children in North Wales were also suspected of causing actual bodily harm, the youngest being a 6-year-old girl.
Other cases include a 6-year-old boy suspected of possessing cannabis, and a 9-year-old girl accused of carrying a knife or blade at school, Breitbart reported.
Meanwhile, children under the age of 10 are considered by law to be too young to be held criminally responsible for any wrongdoing, with a spokesman from the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children claiming that pornography was "warping young people's views of what is normal or acceptable behavior."
"Prevention has to be the key and that means recognizing warning signs early and taking swift action," Des Mannion from the children's charity said.
"For very young children we have to question the environment in which they are growing up 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," he added.
