Three 'rapists' aged under 10 revealed in police statistics

Three alleged rapists are among more than 600 Scots children under the age of 10 to have been charged with serious offences in the past year. Police statistics obtained by The Sunday Times under the Freedom of Information Act reveal that primary school children as young as eight have been accused of crimes including rape, robbery, assault and fraud. The figures, which have been disclosed for the first time by all eight of Scotland's police forces, provide an alarming snapshot of the level of violent and sexual crime committed by children under the age of 10. [...]

Among them are three youngsters charged with rape from the Strathclyde, Lothian & Borders and Tayside police force areas. One, a nine-year-old, was accused of raping a three-year-old girl, who used dolls to tell her mother about the alleged attack. If convicted, he would become Scotland's youngest rapist. A further 18 children committed lewd and libidinous acts - defined as sexual contact with a person under 16 - and four indecent assaults.

source: Article 'Three 'rapists' aged under 10 revealed in police statistics' by Mark Macaskill; www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2090-2281986,00.html; The Sunday Times - Scotland; 23 July 2006