ONLINE porn has been blamed for a huge rise in sex crimes committed by children, as the number of under-18s arrested in Essex doubled in the last four years.

Figures released by Essex Police after a Freedom of Information request by the Echo show there were 111 arrests for sexual offences in the last year, compared with 53 in 2012.

Over a four-year the period- which has shown a year-on-year rise in almost all categories- nearly 200 juveniles, some as young as ten, were arrested for rape.

James Courtenay, Southend Council cabinet member for children, said the horrifying increase is a cause for concern.

He said: “I think this is certainly a national issue, but it is happening in Southend as well and we need a national approach, as well as action by the local authorty, to stem the rise.

“I definitely think that the prevalence and ease of access to porn is an issue. It used to be hard work getting hold of porn, now you Google it and it’s there.

“Quite a lot of it can be pretty rough and violent stuff. It gives an unreasonable expectation to young people, both boys and girls.

“Boys expect it and girls can see it and think it’s expected of them.

“However, I do struggle to believe that people can abuse porn online and use it as an excuse for rape.”

The figures, which cover the number of arrests between July and August, show one ten-year-old boy was arrested last year for the rape of a child aged under 13, while another was questioned about the sexual assault of a girl over the age of 13.

There were eight 14-year-olds arrested for raping girls under 13, with a total of 46 rape offences recorded in total.

Other 14-year-olds were arrested for possession of indecent images of children and two 16-year-olds were detained on suspicion of child grooming.

Mr Courtenay said one explanation for the rise is that teachers, parents and society in general has become better at encouraging victims to come forward.

An NSPCC spokesman said many of the perpetrators may also have been victims themselves.

He said: “Children accused of sexual offences have often been victims of abuse, harm and trauma themselves.

“And the ever-growing availability of online porn is also having a de-sensitising effect on many children, with some wanting to copy what they see.

“Prevention has to be key. If we are to tackle this growing problem and protect young victims, more needs to be done to identify and treat children who might commit offences.

“And all children need to be educated about what sexual abuse is and how to get help immediately if they or someone they know has suffered an attack.”

The statistics are backed up by figures released by the Crown Prosecution Service, following a separate Freedom of Information request by the Echo.

Between July 2013 and March 2016, the number of youths prosecuted by the CPS for sex offences more than doubled, from 23 in 2013 to 49 in 2015-16.

In total, the CPS took 119 juveniles to court, including 38 for rape, 15 for sexual assault and 13 for sexual assault of a girl under 13.

There were also three prosecutions for making indecent images of children, with an overall conviction rate of 73 per cent.

Crime figures give out a conflicting message

THE total number of juveniles arrested has fallen by 15 per cent over a four-year period, with 3,906 arrests in 2015-16 compared with 4,606 in 2012-13.

Interpreting the figures is not straightforward, however, because they relate to the number of arrests made rather than the number of alleged offences.

For example, there was a 43 per cent drop in the number of teenagers arrested for burglary offences, which could suggest that fewer youths are committing the crimes.

However, with the solved rate for burglaries in some parts of Essex as low as two per cent, it could be argued that fewer arrests are to be expected.

Nearly 1,400 youths were arrested for violent crimes ranging from murder to affray last year, close to the arrest levels of 2012 following a three-year decline.

Police made 865 arrests for assaults, including actual bodily harm, grievous bodily harm, common assault and assaults carried out on police officers.

Last year, 80 arrests were made for grievous bodily harm, compared with 43 in 2012-13, although arrests for actual bodily harm and common assault fell slightly.

There were 164 arrests for possession of weapons, including 17 firearms offences and 40 knife offences.

The youngest child arrested for knife crime was aged just ten and there were two other knife-wielding 12-year-olds.

Arrests for possession of knives have doubled since 2012.

EARLY INTERVENTION IS SO CRUCIAL

EARLY intervention is key to tackling youth crime and police avoid making arrests where possible.

AN Essex Police spokesman said officers will always seek an “alternative and voluntary option” if available.

He said: “Our ethos is to intervene early and prevent harm to children and young people.

“In all of our dealings with young people aged under 18 years old, we will treat them as children first and have regard for their safety and welfare alongside investigating the matter.”