An 11-year-old Sayler Park boy accused of sexually assaulting a 3-year-old boy faces juvenile charges of rape and gross sexual imposition after police say he confessed to the offenses.
The investigation began after a Sayler Park parent called police this month because she suspected abuse. She said the boy exposed himself to her 8-year-old daughter.
But in the form of an apology note to other families, police say the boy confessed to much more. He faces two counts of rape and one count of gross sexual imposition involving a 3-year-old boy. The Enquirer is not naming the 11-year-old because he is a juvenile. In the note, the boy confessed to sexual conduct with the child on several occasions when they were playing in the 3-year-old's bedroom in a Sayler Park townhouse.
Delhi Township police are investigating another suspected sexual-abuse case involving the same 11-year-old and a 7-year-old boy. Police say the 11-year-old admitted to sexually experimenting with that boy, but no charges have been filed.
Sexual conduct by children so young is a growing problem in a society where children learn about sex at a younger age, said Billie Dziech, a language arts professor at the University of Cincinnati who co-wrote the book On Trial: American Courts and Their Treatment of Sexually Abused Children.
"Children who are exposed to the level of sex and violence we see on television and in film are going to be more likely to experiment," she said.
