Boy, 12, raped six-year-old sister ‘to recreate Grand Theft Auto scene’, court told

[OtepotiLilliane42]

This is horrific, and I found it hard to read, especially the part where "the boy’s mother told the court he was “doing really well” and hoped her family could one day reconcile.

“We just want to make things right and do what's best for the safety of the children,” she added.

“My daughter used to be very sad about it all because she worried this was her fault, but she’s come on leaps and bounds, she’s a very strong girl and there’s not an ounce of sadness in her now, I’m so proud of her.” (My emphasis).

Pertinent questions for me are why this boy was permitted to play an R18 game unsupervised, and why his sister could not tell her parents what was going on, but felt that what was happening to was her fault! At age 6!

And shouldn't a 12 year old know, without being told, that what he did
to his sister was dreadfully wrong? At least it seems as if the boy and his sister are getting the therapy they both need, but it's a story that makes one despair at how even young girls will feel responsible for male behaviour.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/rape-boy-sister-gta-sex-scene-swindon-court-a8799261.html

Also says he’d been watching porn... The mind boggles.

I'm uneasy about this, because much as I deplore many aspects of GTA, it is actually possible to play it without any of the sexual content. And although court was told that the acts were related to GTA they have not actually (as the article decided was worth noting) tasted which scenario they actually mean.

Unsupervised playing of GTA (especially if modded to enable I have if the sexual violence content) is of course a deeply worrying issue, and I suspect other inappropriate context was readily available in the family home too. And I think that's the source of my unease - demonising the game (and using that one element of the trial for the headline) is a distraction.

I think the real issue is what was going on in that family and why. Inappropriate screen time choices may well be only a tip of the iceberg symptom (I echo the point above of the 6yo not having an adult to rely on)

My brother has always played GTA and watched porn from an early age, as have I, and he has not gone and raped me or anyone else.

Honestly, I'd say there's an issue in the family or with the boy, because just like seeing someone kill on TV doesn't make people kill. It just gives inspiration to those who already contemplate it.

I'd take a long hard look at the family and the boy, not external factors. There's a chance the boy has been abused himself.

My brother has always played GTA and watched porn from an early age, as have I, and he has not gone and raped me or anyone else.

What? What do you mean 'an early age'?

There are age restrictions on games, dvds etc for a reason!!!

There's 'not an ounce of sadness in her now'.

Bloody hell. Like the girl left with 'no lasting harm' stamped on her by a judge as he dismissed all charges against her male abuser. Her teens, her own sexual development are inevitably going to be seriously affected, until this female is around her thirties she won't be able to say with any real knowledge whether she just walked away from it or if it messed up her life.

And the establishment stand around going ooh I wonder why girls in fast numbers are desperate not to have to grow up female in our society?

I do think that if a child is so influenced by something that is clearly fake like a game or a TV show then that is a massive problem.also.

I used to read horror stories as a child and sneakily watch horror films . I did not attempt to slash people with knives or chainsaws.

Something besides a computer game went very wrong here.

Poor girl

A clear case of consecutivity not being causation.

Boy committed rape after cheese sandwich, etc.

There's not an ounce of sadness in the girl? I have a family member who was sexually abused by a relative. They managed to distance themselves from it for many years, but it resurfaced eventually. This mother wants to bring the boy back into the home it appears. Poor little girl.

Letting your kid watch shite online or on the telly is almost always an indication of generally crap parenting and not bringing up your kid properly. So while it might not be a direct consequence of playing a particular game, obviously the parents have done a piss poor job of bringing up this child (also shown by their attitude afterwards as well).

I often think mothers are the worst in this scenario, because obviously they love both of their children and want to protect both, unfortunately it's at the expense of the abused child.

A friend of mine was also abused by her brother and always resented her mother for ignoring it.

Interesting how they blame the game. Yes it has sexual content but the child not only had access to that but also pornography which is far more graphic. GTA is an adult game hence the age rating, but I know plenty of children that play it and manage not to rape anyone. Much, much deeper issues here, with just another excuse for the media to blame gaming as a cause.

The parents sound messed up from that little interview. Poor, poor little girl.

When I read the mother's comments about there not being an ounce of sadness in her now it just made me think "well there's a woman in denial". You don't get raped by anyone at six years old, never mind your own brother, and just shrug it off and keep playing with your dolls. It sounds like a woman who desperately wants her family to go back to "normal" without realising the harm she's doing to her younger child by minimising what her brother did to her. You have to wonder what kind of pressure that little girl is under to appear ok and protect her mum's feelings.

This case is so heartbreaking. That poor little girl. Her parents have let her down so badly. It's hard to escape the conclusion that no one cares about girls. They are treated as disposable objects for males to use and discard.

My brother has always played GTA and watched porn from an early age, as have I, and he has not gone and raped me or anyone else.

This is disturbing. What do you mean by an early age? And how do you know he hasn't raped anyone?

Porn is absolutely vile. It is the filmed rape and abuse of women and girls. It is not "watching people have sex" - it is watching women being beaten, choked, spat on, anally, vaginally and orally raped, often by multiple penises and other instruments. Sorry to be so graphic but let's be real about it. It does cause massive harm and no one should be watching it - least of all children.

I’ve played GTA 5 fairly comprehensively. I’ve not encountered any scenes of rape or even anything sexually explicit. For the child to have learnt about this from the game it would suggested to me that his version was modded as suggested by a PP.

It’s one thing allowing a 12 yo to play what is clearly an adult game (18 rated) but to allow the modifications is really quite disturbing.

I can’t believe people are making statements like, ‘ Well I watched violent computer games with sexual content and pornography from an early age and I haven’t raped anyone, so there’s other stuff going on in this family and it’s nothing to do with the computer games or porn.’ Did you actually think before you posted such tosh? We aren’t robots. Different people react in different ways. Your experience doesn’t prove anything. You’d have to look at a decent sample size to come to any firm outcomes.

I think many people have their head in the sand because they know that their children use the internet unsupervised for significant periods watching goodness knows what, with either no parental controls, or poor ones that the kids probably know how to get around. Thousands of children, mostly girls are sexually assaulted in schools and there is a terrifyingly high number of rapes too (I need to check the exact numbers). We may not be able to say there is a direct relationship to these types of computer games and porn (I don’t know whether there is or there isn’, I haven’t looked at the evidence, but what I have heard advises caution) but that isn’t to say there aren’t less serious negative effects.

I’m very suspicious of anyone who minimises the potential effect of these sorts of things. There are some things where you don’t wait for concrete evidence, in order to protect the ones you love.

I'm amazed the girl hasn't been removed from her parents care.
They need serious parenting lessons.

5,500 sexual assaults in schools, including 600 rapes reported to the police over 3 years, according to a BBC investigation. This doesn’t include the unreported cases and incidents outside school. This isn’t an isolated case. It is a societal problem.

I’m very suspicious of anyone who minimises the potential effect of these sorts of things. There are some things where you don’t wait for concrete evidence, in order to protect the ones you love

I'm.more suspicious of judges who allow this as an excuse and let the perps walk free tbh.

It's too convenient and is a get out clause.

And no I don't let my kids watch age inappropriate stuff. But rapey fairy tails arent any better are they?

I felt very angry for on the little girls behalf while reading about this horrific crime.

Blaming the game the parents have placed him firmly as the victim.

There’s not an ounce of sadness in her Well that’s ok then, we don’t need to worry about the actual victim of a horrific crime, she’s fine, so we can just focus on the poor boy.
Not one person from the court to the family have centred this female child who has suffered greatly as a result of the people around her.

You agree with everything viking said. The games is a smoke screen so everyone can move along nicely with a reason. There is without a doubt serious problems in that home.

Poor poor girl

@mammoon That's a pretty silly question, don't you think? I think it's fair to assume a man isn't a rapist unless he's convicted of rape or if there has any other indication to indicate he's a rapist.

Early age, hmm probably around 3 or 4. No, of course not, obviously kidding, of course it's at the age of puberty, where most preteens get interested in anything of a sexual nature.

I don't see porn as a big problem personally. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I'd have a talk with my kids that porn is porn and it doesn't represent real sex, which isn't so difficult to differentiate.

But anyway, I do not think porn causes rape. In that case, most men (and a whole lot of women) would be rapists lol.

I do think there's a problem with the family, the way they reacted to their daughter's situation. They seem to be in denial. I agree it's not good parenting to allow your kids to play a game that's outside of the recommended age. But in all, I would also try to see if the boy had been abused as well, as often children of abuse are the ones who abuse other children.

Sorry for typos

The language used by the boy ("special bundles") made me wonder if he has been the victim of sexual assault also

When I told my stepson mother that he had sexually abused my children, I was met with 'Oh, it must be because of those computer games he plays' - she meant GTA. The games that stepson was catagorically not allowed to play at my house.

As for the 'not an ounce of sadness' bollocks.. . Well that astounds me. My daughter is now ten and has such lasting psychological damage that I fear she'll never recover.