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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:
AnAuntieNotAMum · 05/09/2009 02:23

Just read that these boys were two of seven boys - that means there's five more damaged little ones in this family

Sounds like the father did terrible things to his children - making them watch the most violent films, making them beat each other up - could he not be jailed at least for child cruelty to save the rest from him?

pagwatch · 05/09/2009 11:28

saxonne
the point of MN is to discuss and challenge each others views - that is not a 'nasty disagreement, it is a discussion.
I have no prblem with your view but I am going to challenge it if I disagree. Its kind of the point .
And FWIW I always think it is interesting when I make assumptions that everyone will agree with me and it turns out almost no one does. I like that. It makes me reevaluate my thinking. Which is healthy

Welcome to mumsnet !

StripeyKnickersSpottySocks · 05/09/2009 12:26

Saxonne - the 2 victims were related, I believe nephew and uncle. So I guess the 9yos parents thought that he was safe with his older relative. I would let my 8yo DD go the park at the bottom of the road with a friend. We live in a village and I believe it to be as safe as possible. Obviously things to happen and I take that risk, though I believe it to be very small.

kathyis6incheshigh · 05/09/2009 14:06

Interesting article by Janice Turner in the Times today about the area in which it happened - she said in some ways these former pit villages are like villages, in other ways they have the disadvantages of urban areas.

ObsidianBlackbirdMcNight · 05/09/2009 15:18

These two boys sound like embryonic sociopaths. This is likely due to chronic neglect and abuse since birth that has disrupted the normal development of their brains and without intense therapy they will grow up to be adult sociopaths.

I worked with a juvenile sociopath once. It was frightening how his mind worked. He genuinely could not empathise with other people. He was profoundly, profoundly damaged. Hundreds of thousands of pounds were spent on him to try to help him from the age of 3, but nothing changed anything. He is now a very scary adult.

Sociopaths are made, not born.

edam · 05/09/2009 15:46

Kathy - the perpetrators weren't from the village where it happened. They'd been dumped there a few weeks beforehand, by Doncaster's crappy social services dept. The only conclusion anyone can draw about Edlington from this case is that it's safe (children are allowed to play out) and that the locals are nice (they will look after any child in trouble).

kathyis6incheshigh · 05/09/2009 15:47

Edam - I know; his dad grew up there though.

kathyis6incheshigh · 05/09/2009 15:48

sorry, their dad.

edam · 05/09/2009 15:50

Still, that's one shitty individual. Can't draw any conclusions about a community from the fact that one person who grew up there is a crap father.

kathyis6incheshigh · 05/09/2009 15:55

I don't think Janice Turner is drawing any conclusions about the area from what happened - link here by the way - it's interesting background more than anything. She knew the area herself as a child.
I mentioned it mainly because of the discussion about whether it's ok for 9 and 11 year olds to be able to play out, which is related to the area in which it happened.

edam · 05/09/2009 16:14

Oh, OK, not a bad read.

Do you think 'steel yourself' is some sub's idea of a pun given Doncaster is near Sheffield?

kathyis6incheshigh · 05/09/2009 16:18

Yes, almost certainly!

HerBeatitude · 05/09/2009 18:44

Another very good article relating to this, astonishingly by IDS.

Save the mother and you will save the generations to come

I wouldn't advise reading the comments, they really do sound like a mixture of the Taliban and the Nazi Party.

OrangeFish · 06/09/2009 16:02


Sorry to change the topic slightly... does anybody know how the attacked children are doing? I know that they should be still finding ways to cope with what has happened, and hope their families are receiving plenty of support and help to survive this. Is there anyway to offer help/support?

Nancy66 · 06/09/2009 17:05

the victims are both recovered and back at school and receiving ongoing counselling.

edam · 06/09/2009 18:19

an article I read said the first boy who was attacked (before the final attack on the uncle and nephew) was still very badly affected and frightened to leave his home, poor boy.

OrangeFish · 07/09/2009 13:24

Thank you.

Good to hear that Nancy, sorry about the first child.

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