Calls to ban rape porn after savage attack on woman by ‘fixated’ youth
Teenager pored over sex assaults on net before he pounced on girl and hit her with paving stone
PORNOGRAPHY depicting rape must be banned, campaigners said last night, after a “barbaric” teenager obsessed with sexually violent images raped and bludgeoned a woman.
Charlie Pearce was caught on CCTV first running towards the victim then away from the scene with part of a paving slab tucked under his arm. He committed the crime on his 17th birthday.
Pearce had searched for internet videos depicting the rape of “helpless” women in the weeks leading up to the attack.
His parents turned him in after they recognised him following a public appeal by police. A judge yesterday ordered that Pearce, who is still a juvenile, be named following his conviction for attempted murder.
He had already admitted two counts of rape and causing grievous bodily harm with intent as the woman walked home at night through Victoria Park, in Leicester, on July 3.
Joshua May, a spokesman for the Women’s Equality Party, said: “This horrific attack is a brutal reminder of the violence that women and girls still face in this country. The prosecutor’s comments show the real-world risks associated with pornography that dehumanises and objectifies women.
“Free porn has incentivised the proliferation of ever more violent and extreme content which, once it has hooked its audience, allows producers to protect their revenue streams. Increasingly that audience is young boys.
“The majority of 11 to 16-year-olds have already accessed explicit material on the internet. Unless we stop the marketing of violent porn to young boys, we can never hope to end violence against women and girls.”
Sarah Green, co-director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition, said: “The evidence about the offender’s searches for online porn before the attack tell us that we urgently need public discussion about the contents of contemporary online pornography, its accessibility and what is known about the way it influences those who use it.”
In 2013, David Cameron promised to ban pornography involving simulated rape and said that online videos would be subject to the same rules as those sold in sex shops.
The victim, who is in her 20s, told the court in a statement: “Last July I woke up from a coma not knowing what I had been through. I have to live with the violent injuries as well as the physical and psychological impact they have had on me and will continue to have on me. I don’t know what will happen and how this will affect my academic future and the rest of my life.”
A three-day trial at Leicester Crown Court was told Pearce left his victim for dead in undergrowth in the park, and she was only found when a passing cyclist spotted a pool of blood and went to investigate. The jury was told the youth was “fixated” on violent and controlling sex attacks.
Security cameras at a property nearby showed Pearce calmly stepping into a driveway to avoid a police patrol answering a 999 call from witnesses, who heard “thudding” noises as the woman was attacked at about 11.35pm on July 3.
He left his victim in a medically induced coma for two weeks, after she suffered life-threatening skull fractures and bleeding on the brain.
Pearce was linked to the attack by “one-in-a-billion” DNA matches after his family contacted the police following a media appeal.
Adjourning sentence until a later date, Mr Justice Haddon-cave said: “In view of the gravity of your crimes, you can expect a lengthy sentence.”
‘The offender’s searches for online porn before the attack tell us we urgently need public discussion’