Teen Raped 6-Year-Old, 8-Year-Old While Playing 'Murder In The Dark'

A 13-year-old boy from Exeter, England, was convicted of raping a six-year-old girl and an eight-year-old boy while playing the children’s game “Murder in the Dark.”

The unidentified accused – now 18 years of age – admitted to raping a boy under 13, raping a girl under 13, two counts of assaulting a boy and a girl under 13 by touching and two charges of inciting the boy to engage in sexual activity, according to the Sun.

The incidents took place between September 2013 and May 2014, during which the defendant frequently invited the victims to play the game of “Murder in the Dark” with him.

“Murder in the Dark” or “Wink Murder” game is one where one player is secretly appointed a murderer and another is appointed the detective. The detective leaves the room, where the lights are dimmed, and the murderer takes the opportunity to wink at someone who screams and plays dead. The detective then comes back and investigates, trying to identify the killer.

While playing the game, the defendant would almost always play the “seeker,” or the detective, teaming up with either the male or the female victim. Whenever the accused was alone with one of the victims, he would subject them to various sexual abuses.

The abuses continued over a nine-month period because none of the victims spoke out against the defendant’s actions, one of the reasons being their lack of knowledge about his actions being inappropriate.

Only when the eight-year-old boy received sex education lessons at his school did he speak out about how he and the six-year-old girl used to be treated by the defendant during playing games, prosecutor Fiona Elder said. He added that he had been abused 50 times by the defendant.

The male victim opened up to his father about how the defendant performed oral sex on him, among other sexual acts. Following his statement, the girl also said she began wearing dungarees -- a garment consisting of trousers with a bib held up by straps over the shoulders -- so the defendant could “not go to her,” after he abused her on her birthday.

District Judge Diana Baker, who presided over the case, said about the defendant: "He sought out two innocent children and raped them, sexually assaulted the boy and engaged in sexual behavior, causing them untold damage and taken away their childhood innocence."

Then, she turned to the defendant and added: “There is no doubt your offending has caused the most serious damage and potentially lifelong impact on the two children."

The judge also refused to believe that the defendant’s actions could be characterized as "sexual experimentation", or a "one-off" type of offending as an "element of manipulation" was involved in them.

She also said there were reasons to believe the defendant told the victims not to tell their parents about the abuses they faced at his hands. However, this claim was denied by the defendant during the trial.

Defense attorney Mary Aspinall-Miles said there was no indication to suggest her client was attracted to children or that he fantasized about his past offenses.

The defendant was sentenced to two years detention and training and barred from contacting the victims for lifetime. Also, due to the serious nature of the crimes, the defendant was to serve one year of detention in an adult prison before being released under supervision, Mirror reported.

"I am sorry for the victims and everyone who has been affected,” the defendant said.