Supervision order for 11-year-old boys convicted of attempting to rape girl, 8

[alp227]

Source: The Guardian

Two 11-year-old boys found guilty of attempting to rape an eight-year-old girl were spared custody today after a judge ruled they did not realise the severity of their crime. The pair were instead given a three-year supervision order that will see them rehabilitated in their communities under the watch of probation, police and social services.

The boys are among the youngest people on the sex offenders register after their conviction at the Old Bailey in May.

They were 10 last October when they tried to assault the girl on their housing estate in west London in an incident described by one of their barristers as "a game called show me yours and I will show you mine".

A jury acquitted them of two charges of rape but found them guilty of attempted sexual assault.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/aug/18/boys-attempted-rape-girl-eight-supervision-order

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Back in 1993, the boys who kidnapped and killed James Bulger were sent to prison until they became 18 in 2001. One of them, Jon Venables, returned to prison this year for child porn. I wonder if this case in which the judge sought rehabilitation instead of incarceration will scare these boys straight.

But the article states later that the girl changed her story upon cross-examination and admitted that she lied to her mother. The girl worried that if her mother found out about her "bad behavior" the girl wouldn't get candy.

[Lightning Count]

1. Makes you sad and furious at the same time. nt

[JI7]

2. what did the girl lie about ?

[alp227]

3. She lied about getting raped

During the trial, the jury was shown a recorded interview in which the girl played with a teddy bear while telling police officers how the boys had exposed themselves, pulled down her pants and raped her.

The girl's story changed when she was cross-examined via videolink. She said she had lied to her mother because she had been "naughty" and was worried she would not get any sweets.

[JI7]

4. what did she mean by she had been "naughty" ? also was she examined by doctors

is she saying the lie was that she was raped but she did "consent" to sex ? because i'm not sure if it's possible for someone so young to do that. or even know enough about this stuff.

i'm kind of confused about this.

[Odin2005]

5. That's messed up!

I'll bet those boys are victims of sexual abuse.

[Rage for Order]

6. 30 years ago we called it "playing doctor", nowadays the boys are charged with rape

The times, they are a-changing