An eight-year-old schoolboy was allegedly sexually assaulted by a classmate.
The boy's parents slammed his primary school for failing to keep their son safe. His family were left reeling at the end of last month when the schoolboy, who cannot be named, blurted out that another boy, also aged eight, had been touching him between his legs repeatedly when they sat next to each other in class.
The boy told his parents he never wanted to see the other boy again and the matter was reported to the north Liverpool primary school and to Merseyside Police. When confronted by teachers, the other boy admitted his behaviour, however the police confirmed that as he is under the age of criminal responsibility no prosecution could be pursued.
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The victim's mum told the ECHO: "He was messing around with his sister one day and he just came out with 'don't push me, [the other boy] is always trying to touch me there'.
"We were just like 'what the hell'. It was so innocent how it came out. We said to him you need to explain us exactly what has been going on. We were just devastated."
The boy told his parents how the other boy had touched him on his genitals over his clothing for around 16 days, and when asked to stop would tell him "relax" and "stop being a baby". The boy also made explicit sexual comments to their son, who has been kept off school since the abuse came to light.
His mum said her family is shocked that the abuse went unnoticed for so long, despite three members of staff including a teacher, a teaching assistant and a one to one worker being in the classroom.
She said: "When I asked the school about it they said they would have a 'conversation' with the staff. A conversation is what you have when it's something small, not something so big."
But their major concern is the fact the school say that although the other boy's parents have so far kept him at home, he "remains welcome" in the school and will not be excluded, meaning her son could face being in contact with him if he goes back.
Speaking about the impact of the abuse, she said: "He's really quiet, he's been sleeping in our room. Also he's missing school, his friends, the nativity, all the Christmas stuff. They keep saying he's welcome to come back in.
"But this eight-year-old boy keeps telling you he never wants to see the other boy again. We ask whether the other boy will be there, and they say if he comes in he will also be welcome. They told us bring him in and see how he feels, but they have no right to tell him how he should feel.
"It would never happen in a workplace, you would never be forced to work with someone who had sexually assaulted you."
She said she feels they will be forced to move their son to a new school, which "feels wrong as he is the victim."
The mum also criticised the lack of support from the school. She said that although a "generic counsellor" was offered by the school, she did not have specialist training in sexual abuse, so the family declined her services.
However the family said they were signposted to specialist support by Merseyside Police, and have an appointment with the sexual assault charity RASA in the new year.
A spokesperson for Liverpool Council, responding on behalf of the school, said: "We are unable to comment on the details of individual cases.
"However the council is satisfied that the school followed both its child protection policy procedures and behaviour policy and did so proportionately. Appropriate support has also been offered."
A Merseyside Police spokesman said: "We can confirm we received a report of a sexual offence involving two young children at [a primary school]. It was reported to us on Friday 25 November and specialist officers have spoken with the family of the child who has made the accusations.
"We have also spoken with the school and the Local Authority to ensure that all safeguarding measures have been put in place. We will not be conducting any further enquiries as both children involved are under the age of criminal responsibility."
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