In Bedfordshire a Freedom of Information request has revealed that in the last four years 41 children were reported to the police accused of sexual offences.
Bedford Today report:
The age of the children accused was between 12 and 17 for all but one of the offences which is alleged to have been committed by a child aged between six and 11.
19 of the offences were committed against another child, while 22 are listed as sexual assault.
And this week Jon Brown, head of strategy and development for sexual abuse at the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) claimed that childhood abuse and neglect could be to blame for the offences.