There have been almost 300 sexual crimes carried out on children by other young people so far this year in the county, figures have revealed.

Kent Police dealt with fewer reports of sex crimes where both the victim and the suspect were under 18 last year, however, a specialist in the field says children's exposure to pornography remains a concern.

The figures from the force - released following a Freedom of Information request - related to rape, sexual assault, disclosing private sexual images without consent, and voyeurism.

Last year, there were 279 reports of such crimes where the victim and suspect were aged between 11 and 18, a decrease of 12% from 2019's figures.

So far this year, there have been 271 such reports.

There were another 22 reports where both children were under the age of 10 last year. In 2021 so far, there have been 16 such cases.

The age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales is 10.

The force was asked for the number of reports from 2017 to 2021 and in only 1.6% of cases over the last four years was someone over 10 charged, given a summons, or postal requisition.

In most cases (48%), further action was halted despite a named suspect being identified. In these cases, the victim did not support, or had withdrawn support, for further action.

Difficulties with evidence prevented further action being taken in 32% of cases.

In 119 cases, further action was taken by another body or agency.

A total of 95 reports remain under investigation. In three cases, the suspect was deemed too ill to prosecute.

In disclosing the data, Kent Police's information management team said: "In all cases where both parties are children they would be subject to multi-agency discussion.

"Where appropriate, alternative solutions to prevent a child entering the criminal justice system unnecessarily may be sought, for example, the therapeutic route."

Bex Darby works for NSPCC's National Clinical Assessment and Treatment Service (NCATS), a multi-disciplinary team made up of both clinical staff and social workers who help children who display harmful sexual behaviours.

Her team also works with the people around the child - who are often those who have additional needs - including their families, carers or social workers.

Responding to Kent Police's figures, she said: "We rely on the fact that mostly their behaviour is about relationships that have gone wrong somewhere and so we try to offer them a trusting, stable relationship to work on whatever needs to change.

It may be that a criminal prosecution isn't the best way to get what everybody wants.

"I'm really glad to hear that the police view is actually prosecution isn't necessarily the best option because that's our view in our team.

"It may be that a criminal prosecution isn't the best way to get what everybody wants.

"If the victim wants a prosecution, for whatever reason, then they should be supported in every way if that's what they feel is the right thing."

The team manager - whose organisation helps young people between the ages of eight to 22 - says she feels there has been an increase in referrals over the last two years, with the Everyone's Invited campaign to eradicate sexual abuse in schools having influenced this.

She added: "I don't think there's more of this behaviour around, I think that people's awareness of it has increased. People are a bit more confident about saying something.

I don't think there's more of this behaviour around, I think that people's awareness of it has increased

"Teachers and professionals are much more likely now to raise it as an issue, so that's a good thing."

Speaking about online abuse among youths, she said: "The most significant online issue for the young people we see is how much pornography has influenced or contributed to the development of their behaviour.

"Children who are early sexualised, children exposed to pornography at a young age, [who are] not properly monitored, children who are unfortunately shown pornography by parents in arguably an abusive way, children who have been addicted to pornography and who have acted out some of what they have seen on other children.

"It can be be a bit pathological, the influence of pornography, so I would say that's where the key concern is for us about the online world."

Detective Chief Superintendent Emma Banks from Kent Police’s protecting vulnerable people command, said: "Protecting children from harm is a priority for Kent Police and any report of a sexual offence involving a child or young person will be fully investigated.

"However, the response needs to be proportionate to the circumstances with the immediate focus always being on safeguarding children.

"Sexual offences can sometimes be carried out by children and officers do not want young people to be criminalised unnecessarily so it is important we assess each case on an individual basis, speak to all parties involved and use common sense and professional judgement to determine the best way forward.

"If appropriate and with the consent of all involved, community resolutions will be used as a way of educating all parties concerned and some young people will be referred to other agencies who can assist in reducing the risk of long term harm.

"We have dedicated investigators who are highly skilled in determining whether there are wider child protection issues or the presence of exploitation and coercion; in these cases, there must be a full criminal investigation and the offender could be charged with a range of serious offences."

The NSPCC has a helpline called Report Abuse in Education, for those who experience abuse at school, which can be reached by telephone on 0800 136663, or via email at help@nspcc.org.uk.

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