Shocking proof that watching porn can influence behaviour - in the most tragic way.

This story is absolutely shocking – and does away with the claims that watching porn has ‘no effect’ on young men.

A 12-year-old UK boy who raped his seven-year-old sister – after watching hard-core porn on an Xbox at his friend’s house – has avoided a custodial sentence.

The boy, now 13, admitted to all the offences he was accused of, including rape and indecent assault.

Instead of a sentence, the judge imposed a 12-month referral order – saying that he didn’t want to take the boy away from his family.

Even his sister, the seven-year-old girl who was raped, said that she wanted her brother home.

In a statement she said she “loved” her brother, and wanted him to come home so that they could play games together.

The victim reportedly said, “I feel sad what [he] did. I want him to go to our house so I can play games with him. I love [him].”

The girl could not recall the exact sequence of events that occurred when the assaults took place, but said that she thought her brother had touched her on six separate occasions.

The Blackburn Youth Court heard that the boy had watched porn, and then fostered  ‘a desire to try it out’. He committed a number of sexual offences against his sister between March and May – pleading guilty to one count of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, two counts of indecent assault, and one count of rape – but the offences were not discovered until a few months later.

In his statement to the court, the boy said that he was “disgusted” with his actions. He promised that there would be no repeat of them. In his sentencing, the District Judge James Prowse said that he thought it was “highly improbable” that the boy would offend again.

The judge said that the boy’s referral order would be “intense”, and was specifically designed to deal with the crimes he had committed last year.

Social workers will remain in contact with the boy in the coming months, and the boy will be placed on the sex offender register for two and half years.

During sentencing, the judge also made the reference to the role that watching porn had played in the crimes. He told the boy:

When you started watching pornography you had a desire to try it out, having watched what adults were doing.

Society’s view on pornography covers a wide spectrum from complete condemnation on the one side to being laissez-faire on the other but even the most liberal-minded share society’s profound unease that children of your age can and do access the internet and watch graphic images of sexual intercourse.

The judge also said that “many people” would now be questioning whether there was a link between young people’s easy access to pornography, and sex offences committed by young people.

The judge further told the boy that, “The realisation of what you had done brought you to your senses long before any adult became aware of it and on your own volition you stopped.”

What do you think about the easy access young people have to porn today? Is this damaging, or is it a normal part of sexual discovery?