Kids as young as TEN have been arrested for rape and violent crimes, shocking news stats reveal
COPS arrested 34 children aged just 10 or 11 on suspicion of rape and violent offences last year.
The shocking figures represent nearly half of the 80 primary school-aged kids who were arrested in the West Midlands in 2015.
Five children were quizzed over five separate rapes and the victims were three boys and two girls all aged under 13.
Cops also arrested 11 youngsters on suspicion of actual bodily harm and five for assault by beating.
A further five children were quizzed about robberies and two for section 18 attempted woundings.
Other offences included assaulting a constable, sexual assaulting a girl by penetration, assaulting a girl by touching, and common assault.
Other kids were arrested for "being concerned in the production of a controlled Class B drug" - cannabis - and using violence to secure entry to a premises.
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The figures were released after a Freedom of Information request but the outcomes of the investigations have not been revealed by West Midlands Police.
Last month a boy was arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting two young girls at Legoland in Windsor.
In July this year four teenagers were arrested on suspicion of assaulting a boy who was airlifted from Alton Towers.
In November last year a 15-year-old schoolboy and two other men carried out a series of armed robberies at homes and crowded pubs – before texting women to brag about how much money they were making.
Brothers Kurtis and Lewis Richards and their teenage accomplice targeted properties in Sutton Coldfield, Aldridge and South Staffordshire in a terrifying crime spree of six raids in just six days.
Homes, pubs, sports clubs and businesses were hit by the balaclava-wearing gang.
They always wore black clothing and used scaffolding poles to threaten their victims, who included two young children.
The 15-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, sent one message to a girl during the crime blitz which read:
“They won’t catch me – I’m too good to get caught.”
The violent thugs were arrested after an operation by detectives from West Midlands Police’s Force Priorities Team.
The three defendants pleaded guilty to conspiracy to rob when they appeared at Birmingham Crown Court.
Kurtis Richards, 24 and from Brockwell Road, Kingstanding , was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years.
Lewis Richards, 22 and from Charles Court, Sutton Coldfield, was jailed for 11 years with a 16-year licence.
He was on licence for a carjacking in which the victim had mace sprayed in their face.
He was classed by the judge as a dangerous offender so must serve at least eight years before being considered for parole.
The 15-year-old was sentenced to five years in a young offender’s institution.
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