Sex offenders aged 5

280 primary kids kicked out for indecent behaviour

Lewis Panther & Jennifer Wiley, News of the World, UK, 03/01/2009

Children as young as five are being booted out of school for Sex Offences, shocking new figures reveal.

In a damning indictment of the way youngsters are being sexualised at an early age, official government stastistics show 20 five-year-olds were excluded in just one year for sexual misconduct.

They were among 280 primary school children aged under 11 kicked out during 2007 for a range of serious sex offences.

And another survey has revealed a sickening new menace facing older children . . . sexual bullying. Researchers from the Young Voice charity questioning 11-19-year-olds found that one in ten had been forced against their will to take part in sex acts.

Schools are also frequently failing to tackle sex bullies or protect kids suffering from sexual harassment, TV-Panaroma claims in a special programme on the topic tomorrow.

Children-charities admit that the influence of gang culture in Britain schools has put youngsters firmly in the sexual firing line.

Boys are told to have sex as part of their initiation rites to become a gang member while young girls are regularly being forced to perform sex acts for protection, they reveal.

Michele Elliott, of the children's charity Kidscape, said: 

"Sexual bullying has become much more prevalent certainly over the past four or five years."

Disturbing

"On the Kidscape helpline we used to get maybe one or two calls a year about sexual bullying. Now we're getting two or three a week. If that's the case, it's probably the tip of the iceberg."

"This problem can happen in all schools. It can be inner city schools but we also find it in fee-paying schools which are quite well known."

"Sexual bullying has almost become a way of asserting your power over others and for that reason it's very disturbing."

"If you don't stop children behaving in this way they start to feel this is appropriate. When you look at the backgrounds of adult sex offenders you do see inappropriate sexual behaviour when they are younger, as well as other indicators."

And an unnamed London head-teacher revealed how in one incident a girl of 15 was forced to perform a sex act on a group of boys.

He said: "Afterwards the boys just went off to their lessons as if nothing had happened.". Incredibly the victim had to stay on in the same school afterwards because education bosses ruled she could not have home tutoring.

But her family were told that her attackers "who eventually pleaded guilty and got custodial sentences" would be taught at home because they had been excluded.

Another 13-year-old girl ended up having to move school after being left to sit in the same class as a boy who had repeatedly groped her.

The girl's mum said: 

"It's inconceivable that someone can be sexually assaulted and be expected to go back to school."

The attacker was finally moved to another school after the parents went to police. But it ended with her being shunned by classmates "who regarded what had happened as a joke" and then she was forced to leave too.

The programme also reveals how the family of a five-year-old girl who was locked in a room and sexually assaulted by another pupil were urged not to report the attack to police by a West Country school.

The girl's mother said: 

"She is inconsolable. But when we called in the police we were told the boy was under the age of criminal responsibilty."

NSPCC children's services manager Paula Telford, revealed how the organisation had to regularly deal with sexual bullying horror stories "even among primary schoolkids."

She said: 

"There was a 10-year-old who was forcing other children to perform sex acts on him while he was performing sex acts on them. And we have had much younger children too."

Education expert Neil Duncan added: 

"The range of sexual bullying is widespread. Most schools will have some forms of it going on."

Panorama is on BBC1 at 8.30pm on Monday 5 January.