Child sex offence figures revealed

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There were 20,758 alleged sex crimes involving under-18s reported to officers in England and Wales in 2008, children's charity NSPCC said.

In almost one in four cases (4,984) the victims were 10 or younger, and more than 800 offences involved children aged four and under.

Six times more sex crimes were recorded against girls than against boys.

The NSPCC obtained the statistics by making freedom of information requests to all of England and Wales's 43 police forces. All but Greater Manchester Police responded.

This is the first time the charity has compiled the figures.

The Home Office's annual crime report shows there were a total of 53,540 recorded sexual offences of all kinds in 2007-08.

But the NSPCC says official statistics do not provide a clear picture of how many involved children.

It is now calling on the Government to collect and publish annual police data showing the number and ages of victims.

The charity also wants these figures to be linked clearly to the number of convictions and other penalties that result from the recorded offences.