[Celyn]

Hey there,

Sorry to hear about the situation that happened when you were younger. If you were very young and didn't have much of an understanding of sex, then it's unlikely that you would go to jail.

However, this depends on the age you were at the time and the age of criminal responsibility in your country. For example, in the UK, anyone aged 10 and above can be arrested and charged with a crime, but those under, cannot. Even then, the youth criminal justice system may be different to the adult criminal justice system to take into consideration the age, development and intentions (whether you knew what you were doing) of the young person.

Similarly, you might want to look into the age of consent in your country. In the UK, the age of consent is 16. Sexual activity under that age is considered illegal, however, the law may be more concerned with an adult (18+) being involved with an under 16 year old compared to two under 16s being sexual, even if it is illegal.

It's difficult to say whether the neighbour may have experienced trauma as everyone is affected by things differently. Child-on-child abuse is a complicated and not much is known about it. Some may feel traumatised by what they experienced, and some might not. Also, as Dez said, it's normal to be curious and explore bodies (including touching) even at a young age.

If the neighbour was quite a bit younger than you, or was vulnerable in some way (e.g. disabled) and it was repeated and caused trauma, then there is a risk of being charged with a crime, if it was reported. Though your age and development at the time would be taken into consideration. However, that's the worst case scenario and we cannot guarantee that is what would happen as we aren't law professionals.

Since this is bothering you, I'm wondering if there is anyone in your life that you trust that you could talk to about this?

Hope this helps a bit and remember that we are always here for you too.