I am angry with God

I am so sorry to hear this. I have always understood that the age of criminal responsibility is 10 in the UK. Was this reported to the authorities?
Any child who commits a crime such as this needs family intervention by social or other services who I assume woukd be involved.
Hopefully you are not too faraway so you can help support your granddaughter and as for God I have no religious belief so cannot help , sorry, but I wish you peace of mind and recovery from this dreadful situation.

Be angry with God and tell Him exactly how you feel about this. That will get it out of your system eventually.

Concentrate on helping your grand daughter and her parents.
They need you more than ever now.

Try to make sure that you all get professional help to deal with this horrible happening.

I don't agree that a seven and ten year old should be supervised all the time. No one expects a boy of ten to commit rape! Children should be able to play together without the fear of rape!

He may not legally be old enough to be prosecuted, but he needs help too, which is not, nor should be your concern, but obviously we all hope that the boy doesn't repeat this offence. You may be able to ask the police what steps can be taken to prevent that.

I hope you as a family get the help you need to get through this horror.

Instinct (only instinct, not expertise) suggests to me that the family should try not to dwell too much on the victim aspect of your granddaughter's awful experience. Let her feel that the people around her are strong for her and that they still see her as she always was before this happened, and that life will be good again.

I really feel for you all.

Ladymuck ... I find your post so disappointing!
To think that you thought it appropriate to say this, makes me so cross on behalf of the op and her Gd
Your remarks are completely unnecessary imv.

The little boy isn’t horrible...just damaged. He absolutely needs to know this was wrong and be accountable, but it’s his horrible parents who are to blame.

ladymuck

Your anger is directed at the wrong person. Your granddaughter's safety is the responsibility of her parents. The children must have been alone together for such a thing to happen. A little girl of seven should be under an adults supervision all the time.

That is a disgraceful thing to say ladymuck. It is not the fault of the girl or her family, it is the fault of this horrible boy and, in some ways, his family.

Farawaygran I am so sorry to hear of the anguish you are experiencing at this time.

I wonder if this site is the most appropriate place to express your overwhelming feelings of anger and grief. It is a site open to anybody and what you describe is a very sensitive and personal incident involving two children. You, quite naturally, need support during this terrible time and I wonder if there are any professional counsellors or support groups who can offer a listening ear.

I am not a religious person but I appreciate that it must be very difficult to maintain faith when awful things happen.
Sadly, though, terrible things happen in the world and there are many damaged people who go on to damage others. I hope at some point your faith can be restored and help you to get through this awful time.

I am desperately sorry for your anguish and you are doing the sensible thing at raging at God, that is completely understandable. But a recent sermon we had explained that God doesn't cause our sufferings, they are part of the imperfect world we live in, where good and evil are in constant conflict. But he does suffer with us, and wants us to take all our troubles to him.

There is an amazing painting in Colmar in Alsace, painted at a time of a plague of ergotism, and intended to give comfort to those suffering from the disease.

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Chapel_of_Unterlinden_Museum_with_Isenheim_altarpiece.jpg

If you are able to expand it large enough, you will see that Christ is himself suffering from the disease with the residents of the hospital, with the swollen gangrenous blisters all over his body.

So please rage at him, tell him how upset you are, just don't stop talking to him, and he will help you through it. My prayers, feeble though they are, will be with you.

That's a bit harsh Ladymuck we are not aware of the circumstances surrounding this incident.
Farawaygran is distressed enough without this sort of comment,

Your anger is directed at the wrong person. Your granddaughter's safety is the responsibility of her parents. The children must have been alone together for such a thing to happen. A little girl of seven should be under an adults supervision all the time.

I am horrified and so sorry for what your family is going though.
Sexual crimes are very "he said she said" and even if there is clear proof, it is sadly a man's world.

I am sadly not surprised neglect was discovered in the agressor's home.

I'm very sorry that your DGC has had this experience but your understanding of prayer seems naive

Thank you all for your kind words and support.You have all given me wise and heartfelt answers
My GD is seeing a therapist, the Social Services are very good and she has very kind police support.
The boy denies it. Social services went into the house of the perpetrator and said there are clear signs of neglect.(so as well as being a perpetrator, he is also a victim.)
As long as he keeps denying it, there is nothing that can be done. But I have lost my faith. I am sorry about this. I am so sorry to hear that several of you have problems too and I hope they are resolved.
Perhaps, in time I can accept that there is a God who moves in mysterious ways. Strangely, I still believe in him, but can't pray.
Thank you all, so very much.

I'm sorry your family is going through this. I don't bother with god since my similar prayers were answered with god allowing her to suffer and die horribly. I'm sorry for your pain and hope you will all be able to lean on each other as you work through this together.

Oh my! That is disgraceful... is there nothing that could be done? I thought the age of criminal responsibility was 10. for you all and a very large for you. Xx

The same thing happened to me age 9 by a boy of 13. Nothing much was done but I've never forgotten it though it was 60 years ago. You just av to learn to live with it and put it to the back of your mind. I have a very worrying problem at the moment and I pray to God to help me through it (& He does)

I am dreadfully sorry to read your post FarawayGran and my heart goes out to you and to your DGD and family.

There is nothing I can say to help, but I didn't want to scroll on by. for you and for your family.

If God exists then he isn't the all forgiving, all loving being that some people would have you believe. He's narcissistic and totally oblivious to or uncaring about the sufferings of the creatures he is supposed to have created.

I haven't read other people's responses but 10 is the age of criminal responsibility so if he was 10 when he did this deplorable crime then he can be charged.

I’m so sorry for your GD, and will pray for you. The Bible says bad things will always happen in this life, it is only the next they’ll be perfect. It doesn’t mean He revels in it, He’s sad too, but He wants us to know Him and choose to be with Him. If he’d made everything perfect now, we’d be like little robots, following Him, but not knowing why. He wants people to think for themselves and be independent. We can choose to be with Him or not. I hope this has helped.

Oh dear Farawaygran ...what an awful thing to happen to your DGD...... at times like these, we question the existence. Recently, I have had reason to be angry with God, but that only lasted for a short time. I am turning my anger to trust. I am trusting Him and hoping HE will help me .
Hope your little GD is getting the help she needs.

Hello Farawaygran, if it helps to know, a small girl in my extended family similarly suffered at the hands of a ten year old boy in their close neighbourhood. This was abroad (English speaking country) where the family live. Please seek counselling for all of you but likewise try not to dwell. Surprisingly, our little one has "recovered" well, as has her slightly older brother who was also caught up in the abuse. Children are very resilient although this does not diminish the early trauma & ongoing fury, anxiety & horror of the parents. Fortunately, the perpetrator & his family moved away from the locality. You and your family are not alone & I hope it helps to know it has & does happen, from time to time, these days. It's horrific. Keep praying for all your loved ones. He will know your pain & worry and will salve your burden of pain. It might take time but have faith. He IS listening. He walks beside you every day. God bless you all.

So sorry FarawayGran what a terrible thing to happen to your granddaughter. I can understand you questioning your faith at this time. I hope you and your family can find some peace and your granddaughter gets the help she needs.
Don't give up with your prayers 25Avalon is right.

Boys of 10 can vary so much - some are nearly mature others still very much little boys. I wonder if he is also a victim, has he been watching porn, etc Even if he cannot be charged the parents should be investigated to check if they exercise proper control over him.

It is a horrendous thought that your GC will have to continue living next door to this boy. Has your son tried the CAB to see if there is any chance of victim compensation? If they rent the council or a housing association might help them move. I do hope they find a way to get away from the area. My thoughts are with that poor girl.

I just don't know what to say FarawayGran this is a truly awful thing to have happened to that poor child.

Keeping you all in my thoughts