Four-year-old amongst nearly 800 children investigated for rape

Shock figures show that growing numbers of children, some barely out of nursery, are being quizzed by police over sex attacks on other youngsters.

Child abuse experts have blamed the sickening statistic on the easy Accessibility of internet porn and the sexualisation of young children on TV.

The four-year-old was quizzed over a rape which allegedly happened in London last year.

The youngster was one of 776 children under the age of nine who have been investigated for sex crimes against other children since 2009.

The chilling statistics also reveal that the number of mini sex offenders has doubled in the last three years - and this could just be the tip of the iceberg.

Among the sickening cases was one of a three-year-old boy who sexually assaulted another youngster in Lancashire, and the story of a five-year-old lad found to have raped a boy in Lincolnshire.

Police also investigated a nine-year-old girl from Manchester who took indecent ­photographs of other children.

None of the children responsible for the acts could be prosecuted because they were under the age of 10 ­ the age of criminal responsibility.

Child protection experts said that although many of the youngster's will have been victims of sexual abuse themselves, the ease of access to online pornography is also to blame.

NSPCC spokesman Jon Brown said: “These figures may seem hard to believe but, unfortunately, there are cases of children as young as three committing sexual offences.

“These children may well have ­experienced very severe trauma and abuse themselves. That kind of ­behaviour won’t just have come out of nowhere.

"They will undoubtedly have been victims of sexual abuse. It’s terrible.

"There should be no cases like this. These children are not child paedophiles, they are victims themselves.”

Two years ago David Cameron vowed to ensure that pornography is blocked by internet providers on demand from the householder.

However, so far only SKY has announced plans to block all pornography, requiring people to opt in if they wish to view adult websites.

The figures, obtained by the Sunday Mirror, reveal how in just three years, the number of children under 10 committing sex offences has doubled, from 128 in 2012 to 254 last year.

One of the worst places was Greater Manchester, where officers investigated 18 horrific cases of children under 10 raping other youngsters between 2009 and 2014, one of which involved a boy aged just six.

Dozens more children under 10 were found to have committed sexual assaults in the area, including a seven-year-old girl who sexually assaulted a boy.

Det Chief Insp Colin Larkin, of the force’s Public ­Protection Division, said: “If we have cases where children under the age of 10 are believed to be suspects in a criminal offence they are treated ­sensitively, by specially-trained officers.

“This will always involve multi-agency safeguarding measures in place. We work closely with partners including education, health and children’s services as well as Barnardo’s and the NSPCC.”

Elsewhere, Thames Valley Police revealed officers have investigated 64 children for sex offences in the last five years.

This included probing two separate incidents involving a five-year-old girl and four-year-old boy who committed unlawful sexual activity with other children.

Other cases saw officers investigate a seven-year-old boy who raped a girl aged under 16 and a nine-year-old boy who raped a boy under 13.

An expert from a charity tackling child sexual abuse said the figures were “tragic”.

Donald Findlater, research director at the Lucy Faithfull ­Foundation, warned the statistics were probably the tip of the iceberg because many

incidents are never reported.

He said: “It is utterly tragic. When you have children as young as three showing sexually harmful behaviour, it is highly likely they will be repeating something someone else has done to them. They are not offenders. They are victims.”

“Many children will act badly as a response to adverse experiences. This could be as a result of being sexually abused themselves, but also gaining access to pornography due to careless or thoughtless parents.

"Children exposed to sexual material online is an area of huge concern. They are curious and many want to try out what they see.”

Mr Findlater said the parents of child offenders were unlikely to seek help and support because “agency involvement, in most cases, is unthinkable for fear of the consequences for their child.

He said: “The criminal law and police environment has little to offer here.

"What is more vital is the role of ­Children’s Services and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).

“But the lack of services available to help children with sexual behaviour problems is a significant problem. There is a real lack of experts trained to deal with the issue.”

The revelation comes after research carried out by a Government regulator last year revealed that children as young as six are viewing hardcore pornography online.

The study by the Authority for Television on Demand suggested 200,000 under-16s, including 44,000 primary schoolchildren, accessed porn from desktop PCs and laptops in a single month.

The watchdog, which works for Ofcom, said 23 of the 25 adult websites most commonly accessed from the UK are hosted offshore and unregulated.

Children’s charity Barnardo’s said early intervention was vital once a child began demonstrating harmful sexual behaviour.

But the charity’s chief Sam Monaghan added: “Unfortunately there is often a lack of adequate therapeutic help and support for these children. Improving this is crucial.

“Providing support early can help stop this behaviour becoming embedded and prevent more serious offences later.”

The Ministry of Justice said: “Social services work with the families of children under 10 whose behaviour gives cause for concern.

"If a child is found to have committed a serious offence, councils can apply to the Family Court to place the child under ­supervision or take them into care.”