Charity calls for child sex dolls to be given to paedophiles on prescription
The National Crime Agency and the NSPCC have warned the child-like mannequins risk 'desensitising' perverts
A CHARITY has sparked outrage by calling for child sex dolls to be made available for paedophiles on PRESCRIPTION.
StopSo, which aims to prevent sex offending through therapy, say the dolls could stop perverts harming real children.
But leading charities and police chiefs want to criminalise the dolls and say they are more likely to lead to offending.
It is currently illegal to import the dolls under the 1979 Customs and Excise Management Act but ownership in the UK is not against the law.
The National Crime Agency says it has intercepted 123 of the dolls since March and that the seizures had led them to 120 alleged offenders including seven men who are now facing charges.
Juliet Grayson, chairman of Stopso, : “If someone comes forward and says, ‘I am attracted to young children, and I want help to ensure that I never act on that attraction, so that I never harm a child,’ then maybe society should consider the use of dolls in a carefully regulated way.
“Perhaps a prescription for the use of a child sex doll could be given, alongside therapy, mentoring and supervision, could help the individual remain law abiding and fully accountable for their behaviour.
“This carefully regulated use of child sex dolls might be one way to keep children safe. It feels like dangerous territory, but is certainly worthy of consideration.”
“Society needs to reach a point where a teenager can say to his mum, ‘I am a paedophile,’ and she will get him the right kind of help to manage his behaviours in pro-social ways.”
The child-like mannequins have been sold through sites such as Amazon and eBay.
The NSPCC slammed the suggestion and said child sex dolls risked desensitising offenders.
The NSPCC’s development head, Jon Brown, said: “There is no evidence to support the idea that the use of so-called child sex dolls helps potential abusers from committing contact offences against real children.
“And in fact there is a risk that those using these child sex dolls or realistic props could become desensitised and their behaviour becomes normalised to them, so that they go on to harm children themselves, as is often the case with those who view indecent images.”
most read in news
Hazel Stewart, from the National Crime Agency, said: "We know [child sex doll] purchases can indicate other offences against children, as was the case against Turner who had a sickening stash of abuse images.
"Importers of such obscene items should expect to have law enforcement closing in on them."
Barnardo’s Chief Executive, Javed Khan said: “The importation of child sex dolls into the UK is an extremely disturbing new phenomenon and one that needs to be tackled with robust legislation and enforcement.
“Barnardo’s specialist workers see first-hand the harm suffered by children who have been sexually groomed, exploited and abused.
“We are pleased authorities are working together to stamp out this growing problem which should help protect vulnerable children."
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368