http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england...shire-27472707
Nobody is safe from anyone, young or old.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england...shire-27472707
Nobody is safe from anyone, young or old.
The same as yesterdays youngsters and tomorrows, it is all down hill from now on.
Sadly yes it is or so I believe
I think we need to be careful of jumping to too many conclusions on the limited information available.
Under provisions in the Sexual Offences Act 2003, a ten year old is incapable in law of consenting. This means that if these two kids had consensual intercourse, the boy is guilty of rape. It is worrying that a ten year old is engaging in sexual activity (consensual or not), and it is her immaturity that makes her incapable of consenting. However, these days it is common for a ten year old girl to have started her periods and be in the midst of the hormonal soup we might tend to associate with the teenage years.
The Crown Prosecution Service exercises its discretion not to prosecute in some cases of under age sex, especially where the receptive partner is over 13 years old and not necessarily incapable of consenting. Factors weighing against prosecution are similar ages.
In this case, the fact that the receptive partner was ten and there was a five year difference in age likely tipped the scales in favour of prosecution.
Under section 5 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, all the prosecution has to show to secure a rape conviction is that the receptive partner was under 13 at the time and that his penis intentionally went into her mouth, vagina or anus, however fleetingly. It is immaterial if she was a willing participant or if she instigated the act. I realise this might be very different to many people's understanding of rape, but that is the effect of the modified provisions for children in this case.
I am aware that girls of such a young age can be promiscuous and lead others on. Because of her age the lad will be charged.
It is a fact of life that kids grow up too fast in this day and age, egged on by fashion designers who produce designs that are totally inappropriate to the ages they are designed for. I am, of course, not saying that they are totally to blame. There are many other factors as well.
Kids are much more sexually aware at a younger age than they were even a few years ago.
A sign of the times, and not a very good one at that.
What does this have to do with the boy,15, admitting rape? That she asked for it?Originally Posted by Flymo
Yes, I'm struggling to understand what Flymo is getting at here.
This happened just down the road in the town where I live. The story has been in our local papers. The 10 year old girl was followed by this lad it was mid afternoon and he asked her to help him find something that he had lost in a quiet area just off the main road, this is when she was raped. This is nothing to do with her leading him on she was an innocent 10 year old girl walking on her own, in broad daylight. As for what is happening with today's youngsters this has always happened it's just reported more now, which surely is a good thing.
I completely reject the 'she asked for it' supposed justification for sexual violence of any sort, along with the objectification of women and men in all its forms. Rape is a crime with devastating effects, which has touched the lives of some people close to me. I'm a sexual abuse survivor, so I've lived with the years of questions, doubt and pain, though I acknowledge that every survivor's journey is deeply personal and that I can only speak for myself.
The law rightly comes down on the side of questioning the ability of those under 16 to give informed consent. Those under 13 can never give consent in the eyes of the law. Those between 13 and 16 often cannot consent. This position on consent means that the criminal law can attach sanctions to genuinely consensual acts between people of a similar age, which is arguably an infringement of their human rights.
Whenever two important principles conflict - in this case the right to sanctity of the body, and the right to personal autonomy - there is never a perfect solution. The exercise of discretion by the Crown Prosecution Service deals with most of these cases, but there are still some cases where the need to protect those who are yet to become emotionally adult results in criminal sanctions being attached to something that took place with informed consent.
Realistically, I can't see any room for doubt on the facts of this case. I can't see how any 10 year old can give informed consent, and the age gap between the boy and girl involved is deeply worrying. The boy had no alternative to plead guilty once charged if the alleged penetrative act took place and was intentional on his part.
The additional details beyond Scotty1 put this situation beyond doubt. This is an offence that would be wrong whatever the age of the complainant, and I hope the girl involved can find some sort of healing as well as a way to learn to trust again in time.
I'll try again as it seems that my earlier post has vanished into the ether.
Nothing, you've put in this reply, changes how unpleasant your comment about ten year old girls was.
You talk about people not jumping to conclusions - then went right ahead and did it yourself.
I know a couple of sexual abuse survivors and they would not make the suggestion that you made.
I also have a relative who started her periods at 10-11. She certainly wasn't throwing herself at any available boy.
Apologies if my original posting appears and people are having to read it again.
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