A SHOCKING total of 358 child sex crimes were reported to Dorset Police last year including rape, incest and gross indecency.

This was revealed in a damning new report by the NSPCC who have used Freedom of Information powers to establish what the situation is in each county.

For the first time ever the children’s charity has obtained facts showing that a total of 88 known suspects were aged 11 or under.

The national picture also shows nearly a quarter – 23 per cent of sex offence suspects – were under the age of 18.

Now the NSPCC head of service for the South West, Sharon Copsey, is calling for more to be done to address harmful sexual behaviour in minors as well adults.

She said: “Thousands of people come forward every year to report sex crimes against children.

“But many victims are too young to ask for help.

“Others are too scared to tell anyone about their suffering until years later. The rise in recorded sex offences against children is a real concern and we need to find ways to help victims and change the behaviour of young offenders.

“More than 88 suspects in these cases in Dorset were under 18.

“It’s clear we need more services that address the harmful sexual behaviour of young people, as well as adult offenders.” This year the charity is launching two UK-wide programmes to help prevent young people from sexually harming others. Another programme will test therapies for helping children recover from sex abuse.

Mrs Copsey added: “We urge everyone to be vigilant and report any concerns they have about a child.” As part of the report the NSPCC found that across England and Wales, girls continue to be around six times more likely to be sexually assaulted than boys with over 86 per cent of female victims recorded. The figures also showed a rise in the number of recorded offences across England and Wales from 20,698 in 2007-08 to 21,618 in 2008-09 and 23,390 in 2009-10.

A Dorset Police spokesman said: “Protecting children from harm is a key concern for Dorset Police and we work tirelessly with our partner agencies to ensure that vulnerable people are protected and that offenders are brought to justice.

“Our message to victims is ‘don’t suffer in silence’ – we can’t help unless incidents are reported to us. We know that much abuse goes unreported, and it is conceivable that some increase in recorded crime may be attributable to victims, particularly those who have suffered historic abuse, having greater confidence to report these matters.”

Most reports concerned children aged 12-15 years old. However, seven victims in the region were pre-school age and 68 were aged 11 or under.

'Sexualisation' of children a huge problem

THE Director of Kidscape has said the sexualisation of children is a problem that needs to be tackled immediately.

Responding to the number of children 11 or under carrying out assaults Kisdcape director Claude Knights said: “I am very concerned about the number of children indulging in inappropriate sexual behaviour.

“It all has a knock-on effect and I’m afraid that is what we are seeing.

“We hear about it on the helplines and through our work.

“Even the use of sexualised language has now spread to children in primary schools.

“Although it is still a minority of all the sexual abuse figures – it is still a growing concern.”

She called on parents, teachers and groups to take responsibility to ensure that the sexualisation of children at a young age is prevented as a way of tackling the problems.

The number of suspects under 18 is major worry

A MOTHER whose child was sexually abused by a man in Dorset three years ago has pleaded for more to be done to stop the figures rising.

She said that the untold destruction that sex abuse causes should never be underestimated and that it is the biggest evil worrying parents today.

Speaking to the Echo anonymously she said: “It’s the great void in society that no one wants to talk about.

“But unfortunately I have had to, and long after the police investigation and the court case finished it stayed with us.

“It breaks your heart and destroys every piece of trust you ever have.”

“The number of suspects under 18 worries me and I urge the authorities, social services who deal with troubled youngsters to do everything they can to identify who could offend.”