11-year-old boy pleads guilty to raping 9-year-old 15 times, becomes one of Britain's youngest rapists

LONDON, U.K. - An 11-year-old boy, the youngest male-on-male sexual offender in Britain, has pleaded guilty to one charge of raping a nine-year-old boy 15 times and three charges of sexual touching.

The boy was caught by the victim's mother who heard him whispering on the baby monitor in her son's bedroom. When she went into the bedroom, she found the boy assaulting her son on the floor.

When confronted, the boy told her: "I am sorry, I don't know why I did it."

The victim told specialist police officers the boy had raped him almost every day they played together and had asked him to keep it a secret. 

This incident took place on May 29 this year.

The boy, now aged 12, who cannot be named because he is minor, also touched a seven-year-old boy over his clothing and assaulted a disabled 11-year-old boy twice while he was out on bail for the earlier offence. The disabled victim said his attacker had given him a toy sword after the act to keep him quiet.

The defendant, who appeared in a dark jacket wearing a shirt and tie at the Blackpool Magistrates' Court with a security officer to hear the charges against him, was remanded in youth custody to appear for sentencing at Preston Crown Court at a later date.

The boy, who is from the North Shore area of Blackpool, Lancashire, has been a victim of sexual abuse himself, his lawyer Brett Chappell said. He showed remorse and a sense of shame for his crimes, recognising he needed help for his problems and said he would work towards addressing them, his lawyer added.

Prosecuting lawyer Kerry Grieve, however, took a sterner view and said the boy should expect some time in jail. “He has been assessed as at a high risk of joining in further sexual behaviour," she said. He would groom his victims, she added.

“The Crown would say a custodial sentence is appropriate in this case,” the prosecutor said. 

In a similar incident, another 11-year-old boy was charged with raping a nine-year-old girl last month. The boy from Plymouth, Devon, sexually assaulted his sibling on two separate occasions in their home. The Bodmin Magistrates' Court in Cornwall also heard that the boy was found with objectionable images on his phone.