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News

Boys, aged 10 and 11, plead guilty to torturing and sexually assaulting two boys

117 replies

SomeGuy · 03/09/2009 16:24

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/south_yorkshire/8233822.stm

"The victims first met their attackers as they played football in a park.

The boys were lured away by the brothers, who promised they would show them a toad they had found, but instead they were subjected to a horrific assault.

One of the boys had a sink dropped on his head, the pair had bricks thrown at them and they were repeatedly stamped on.

The nine-year-old managed to stagger to a nearby house to raise the alarm, covered in blood from wounds to his head and arm.

The 11-year-old boy was later discovered unconscious in the nearby wood.

Jean Wright said her 40-year-old son, who then found the badly beaten 11-year-old, was left so traumatised he could no longer walk past the scene of the attacks.

The brothers have each pleaded guilty to robbing one of the boys of a mobile phone and the other of cash.

They also admitted two counts of intentionally causing a child to engage in sexual activity.

The brothers were later charged with attempted grievous bodily harm with intent and making a threat to kill in connection with a separate attack on another 11-year-old boy in Doncaster a week earlier.

The court heard the brothers picked a "discreet" location for the scene of their first attack on the other boy, in trees, by a stream.

But they were interrupted by a passer-by, and a week later chose a "more isolated" place for the attack on the two boys.

The nine-year-old and 11-year-old were led to a large mound of timber, described as a "den", which was hidden from public view, where some of their injuries were inflicted.

The brothers then moved their victims to a second site, at the foot of a 15ft ravine. It was here that a broken sink was used to inflict the more serious head injuries on the 11-year-old"

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/south_yorkshire/8235661.stm
Also:

"A relative of the boys who carried out the Edlington attacks has told how their mother would lace their food with cannabis to get them to go to sleep.

She recalled how the brothers grew up in a chaotic household watching horror movies from a young age.

The boys would often be up all night and had even set fire to their own wardrobes in their bedrooms, she said.

From the age of about six or seven they used to watch horror movies, Chucky films, the sort that grown-ups daren't watch.

"She [their mother] just sat in the house doing nothing really, she wasn't really bothered.

"The father used to do a lot more for the children than she did.

"He was a tough dad, maybe a little too tough and strict and they rebelled against him.

"If he smacked the boys for being naughty she would just tell them to tell him to F off, it doesn't matter.

"She used to put cannabis in the tea so they could have an early night and she could have a quiet night in.

"My friend said she had walked into the house one day and was totally disgusted because she had caught her putting cannabis on a chocolate cake."

A former police officer described the brothers as habitual troublemakers who were "a cancer" in the local community.

He first came across the boys when he organised a tree planting scheme at Sandall Park in Doncaster in 2006.

"There was a lot of work put in by the volunteers there, but within 20 minutes of leaving the site the entire area was trashed.

"Five hundred pounds worth of plants got pulled up and thrown in the lake. One particular member of that family was responsible.

"That person was identified to me by someone who saw them trashing the plants.

"On one occasion we had it reported to us that at least one member of that family was seen to pick up ducklings in the park and kill them by throwing them against trees."

OP posts:
Saxonne · 04/09/2009 15:16

Sorry to disagree but I think 9 is way too young to be playing out of sight/earshot of parents. I am all in favour of children being able to play ouside, but even if in their own garden I think parents should still be able to see/hear them from the house. The victims seem to have been alone in a park at the time of being "enticed" away and the fact they were subjected to such a lengthy ordeal must mean the parents had no idea where they were or who they with with, and that to my mind is neglectful!

TheCrackFox · 04/09/2009 16:06

Saxonne, I think it is incredibly unfair to try and blame the victims parents. 9 yr old and 10 yr old playing at the park on a Saturday afternoon is a fairly normal thing to do.

The victims and their parents have been through enough without strangers accusing them of neglect.

OrmIrian · 04/09/2009 16:07

No it isn't saxonne Just because something terrible did happen it does't mean it always will, or is even likely to.

deaddei · 04/09/2009 16:09

I was going to put that Crackfox, but you type quicker than me- and probably more eloquently put as well.

serajen · 04/09/2009 16:12

O Lord, Saxonne, lay off, these parents are going through enough without lashings of guilt from strangers

pagwatch · 04/09/2009 16:12

So presumeably children should be stapled to their parents until they are 16 to ensiure nothing ( good or bad) ever happens to them. Or else we only have ourselves to blame?
I wondered how long before the victims were blamed.

OrmIrian · 04/09/2009 16:16

16 pag! Surely not. 24 at the earliest

kathyis6incheshigh · 04/09/2009 16:17

I hate it when any random bad thing happening to a child is blamed on 'neglect'. Parenting is about weighing up risks and sometimes you will make the right decision but it will have the wrong consequences.

TheDMshouldbeRivened · 04/09/2009 16:17

children should be able to play out without constant supervision or fear of torture.

Why the fuck don't the police act? Why don't we have zero tolerance? They are fast enough to muscle in should a climate protest or anti-war prtest come up. but day to day policing seems to be by the by.

wannaBe · 04/09/2009 16:20

these were nine and eleven year olds, not five year olds. Presumably the parents knew where they were, at the park. At nine and eleven it is certainly not unusual to play out unsupervised - hell the eleven year old would be going to secondary school that year presumably and most children are expected to find their own way there, so I don't see why playing out at that age is such an issue.

pagwatch · 04/09/2009 16:32

Orm I had to cut the tie at 16. he is 6ft tall and I couldn't bear all the smooching with the girlfriend.

The thing that really pisses me off about those who jump into blame the victims/victims parents is that it adds another layer of tension into the endless difficult choices we make as parents.
Giving a child the GIFT of independence is a subtle art requiring risk asessment based on your knowledsge of your child and the enviroment. It is our responsibilty to edge our children into situations that challenge yet don't defeat them. It is our responsibility to them and our duty to society. Children learn to make sensible choices by being presented with situtations where they can practice their decision making. Society benefits as we raise a generation of children who accept the responsibility and freedom of gradual independence without freaking out because of the novelty of it and behaving like criminals on a day release.

But now, as parents, we have to factor in not just our own undersatnding of our childs abilities but also what the world will say - how harshly we will be judged - if something terrible happens. It is ridiculous and it is damaging our children. Everytime something bad happens the victims get scrutinised and however sensible the choices made it is never good enough for someone.
As parents we should be uniting in finding ways to reclaim our childrens freedom instead we point witchy little fingers at each other and say it is neglect - the desire for a normal childhood is neglect.

I am angry because I am finding it ever harder to believe that I will ever be able to give my son with SN any moments of freedom. Between those who will assume different = paedophile and/or dangerous, and those who will judge me should he stumble I see no way forward for him.
Which is shit

fifitot · 04/09/2009 17:14

I think the victims were just playing football at a nearby park when they were lured away. You can't blame the parents for that surely?

Saxonne · 04/09/2009 17:33

Woah, that has taken me aback. Obviously I am waaaaay too protective, as I honestly do believe that 9 year olds should not be out and about without parents. 11 year olds who are at secondary school yes, but not 9 year olds. However I don't want to get into a nasty disagreement with any one as I am fairly new to mumsnet. Sorry if I have upset anyone, I genuinely did think a lot of you would agree with me!

StewieGriffinsMom · 04/09/2009 17:44

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

simplesusan · 04/09/2009 20:07

I would like to see the mother and father sterilised to prevent them from breeding further.

I would also like to think that if a serious offence is reported (which it appears has been the case here many, many times) then the parents/guardians for that child are immediately held responsible and told to keep their ferral kids inside at all times until the matter has been investigated. Failure to comply should result with the parent being punished.
Parenting classes should also be offered and at the first instance of any wrongdoing occurring to show the parents how to deal with their children. Again failure to attend should result in punishment for the parents, whether this be fines/removal of benefits/ imprisonment or whatever.

Finally I hope the victims are given lots and lots of support and the "criminals" shown through strict but fair support how to be responsible,caring adults.

SomeGuy · 04/09/2009 21:44

evidently the parents are scum, but I guess this didn't necessarily alarm the people around them - you would get vigilantes out for blood if they found there was a paedophile nearby, but those same vigilante types wouldn't give a shit about this sort of neglect, because I suspect that those involved with the vigilanteism are rather likely to be bad, neglectful parents themselves, to some degree or other.

I've seen that programme 'Shameless' a couple of times, and I find it unwatchable because my thought is 'this is basically a documentary', which is rather depressing.

OP posts:
deaddei · 04/09/2009 21:51

Someguy- you've echoed my thoughts.
I do wonder what the reaction of other people "like their parents " is to this story.

sheepgomeep · 04/09/2009 22:23

''There is little support for children with behavuoural issues even when the parents are begging for it, let alone when the parents don't give a toss. ''

Hear Hear Riven, I've just about given up asking for help with ds. No one in ss wants to know. Apparantly its to do with 'funding'

tryingtobemarypoppins · 04/09/2009 22:26

I met a guy who teaches at a prision for under 18 year old boys. He said most children carried out evil acts as they were surrounded by evil and evil was the norm. BUT he also felt that some of the prisioners were very sick damaged individuals who were born evil, very few he said, but some were in his thoughts uncapable of rehabilitation.

edam · 04/09/2009 23:31

Someguy, it seems it did alarm the people around them, and countless calls were made to social services and the police. Sadly the children lived in Doncaster, where the council and social services dept. are what could be politely described as 'failing'. As in, a complete fucking catastrophe with multiple deaths of children in contact with social services.

Don't tar everyone unfortunate to have lived near this shitty family with the same brush.

pofacedandproud · 04/09/2009 23:36

Children are not 'born evil' though. They may be badly damaged, even in utero, but there is not some intrinsic satanic force from conception. Something is very wrong with these children's brain chemistry, and it is not hard to work out why. It is terribly, terribly frightening.

SomeGuy · 05/09/2009 00:03

edam, my point was not with regard to the decent law-abiding people, but rather the vigilante types, who are NOT law-abiding, but are only too happy to attack paedophiles and the like.

I'm sure that in some areas the law of the jungle is in effect, particularly when it comes to 'feral' children, who at this age are pretty much untouchable.

OP posts:
edam · 05/09/2009 00:11

Oh, see what you mean. A couple of GPs who worked in Portsmouth or Plymouth or wherever it was they had big anti- 'paedo' vigilante mobs on the TV news a few years back told me most of the loudest rent-a-gobs had their own kids on the child protection register...

ElectricElephant · 05/09/2009 00:21

..

so

everything about this... totally awful. those poor boys (all of them!!!)

don't know wjhat else to say.

there is a phenomenon within murderers/serial killers - there's a gland in the brain that is much smaller than normal (I think it's related to reasoning).

But again........ those poor little boys.
apparently the older one said 'just leave me to die' when they found him in the woods

goreousgirl · 05/09/2009 00:21

The parents were awful, and I daresay THEIR parents were awful to them. Agree with the sentiment that if you are raised a worthless, valueless human, that is the way you will treat others. Look at Baby P's mother - and HER horrific abuse. It is all just too terrible to contemplate - it makes me want to look after a child who needs the love - but the reality is, if I met that child in the park, I'd run a mile. SO very very sad.

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