Boy, 13, admits child rape after watching '˜gay porn'

The Blackpool youth, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, raped a nine-year-old relative and sexually assaulted a seven-year-old relative when he was just 11, Preston Crown Court heard.

A subsequent probe by police found he had used terms such as gay rape, gay porn and gay rape porn.

The honorary Recorder of Preston, Judge Mark Brown, who gave the boy four years detention, said: “This case really does highlight the dangers of access to such material.

“In this age of modern technology one would have hoped it possible to block this kind of material out.

“I hope you appreciate that you have behaved in a terrible and very bad way.

“I am concerned that you may have been affected by the material that available to you on the internet, namely sites that depicted gay rape, but nonetheless I am satisfied this is not a situation in which you were experimenting sexually but rather you were obtaining sexual gratification or pleasure by what you were doing.

“It must have been awful and we simply cannot know what impact it’s going to have had upon him in the long term.

“I must send you to custody today. I must bear in mind your welfare, your future, your reform and your rehabilitation.

“I hope it will be understood by the public the sentence in this case must be considerably shorter than the kind that would be imposed were you much older.”

The boy replied: “Yes.”

While on bail for the offences the youth, then 12, sexually assaulted an 11-year-old friend as they played on an X-Box, offering him toys.

The boy, who has been detained in a secure custodial unit, admitted rape and two counts of sexual assault.

Wearing a suit, he twiddled his thumbs and appeared to tremble as he sat alongside an adult man in the dock.

Prosecuting Francis McEntee said: “The background to this matter is the defendant is himself a young boy.

“He had been staying at the home of his older sister and it was she who discovered the incidents with the seven-year-old boy.

“The family had been at home in Blackpool, it was the early afternoon and it was known the defendant was playing in the rear bedroom with the younger child.

“The mum was able to hear some of the details of what was happening - she heard her son say: ‘He’s watching us’ and the defendant reply: ‘It’s only a toy.’

“Intrigued she went into the room and effectively found the two boys in a state on undress and in a clear and close embrace. That was a distressing sight and she was very badly affected.

“What does become a matter of great concern and a matter of public debate is when the computer was seized it became apparent the defendant had been making internet searches for “gay rape”, “gay porn” and “gay rape porn”.”

Defending, Virginia Hayton QC said: “The impact of a lengthy sentence on him will of course be greater than an adult because he is still of course very young. It already feels a significantly long period to him.

“Thankfully none of the young boys have had to come to court.

“This is a young man who clearly needs help and support. He’s very frank when he talks about why he’s carried on offending.”

He will be subject to notification requirements.