Teenager rapes 8-year-old sister after watching porn

A 13-year-old boy from Blackburn, England has admitted to raping his eight-year-old sister after watching pornography on a Xbox computer console.

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, also pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting the girls and inciting her to perform a sexual act on him.

The case has reignited the debate over children’s access to porn, with a rape charity calling for tighter restrictions.

He told police he had been watching porn on the games console with a friend and ‘decided to try it out’ adding he had chosen his sister because she was small and ‘couldn’t remember stuff.’

The teenager, who appeared before Blackburn Magistrates Court on Tueday, was bailed to live with family members while the youth offending team prepares a pre-sentence on him.

The victim meanwhile is currently being supported by specialist officers.

Rape Crisis Charity operations co-ordinator, Fiona Elvines said that children accessing pornography was a ‘growing concern’.

“This is going to completely destabilise this little girl’s life.

“It will take her a very long time to try and work through. It will have put her life on a different track and I do not want that to happen to anybody else,” she said.

Fiona said when children see porn, they have no context for what it is used for. This will create pressure on children to be sexualised, particularly among younger boys to start having sex.

She also urged the government to view this matter seriously and hopes that internet service providers recognise they have greater responsibilities for controlling access to porn.

A new online safety bill is due to be discussed by a British government committee although an exact date has still to be set.

It proposes that internet users be required to opt in and prove they are over 18 to view adult content.

Currently, restrictions have to be put in place on each device with internet access.

According to the Xbox customer support website, users can customise their access to games, films and television content.

Parents can also block access to the internet and change the online safety and privacy settings for their account.

Microsoft, the company which makes the console meanwhile has expressed its utmost sympathy for all those involved in this case.

“At Microsoft we have some of the most robust systems that allow parents to control what their children play and watch online.

Fiona said parents should also try to talk about sex and relationships with their children and the subject made compulsory in schools, with lesions tailored to the age of the pupils.

“Whenever we talk to kids, they say their parents do not know what they look at.

“At the moment, children think that what they are watching is what adults do when they have sex, but they need to understand it is not,” she said.