A NEWPORT centre is helping to rehabilitate young sex offenders, the Argus can reveal. And the youngest sex offender the city centre unit is dealing with is just 12 years old.

The news comes after a Newport 15-year-old was convicted earlier this week of the attempted rape, attempted murder and kidnapping of a six-year-old girl after a Jubilee party.

The NSPCC Adolescent Sexual Abusers Service was originally set up in Carmarthen, but moved to Newport when it was realised there was a need for it in the area. It can treat up to 18 people at any one time.

Andrew Burroughs, service manager, said: "The project is supposed to work with young people aged 10-18. The youngest person we have dealt with is 12, and the peak age for sexual offending in young people is 15."

Mr Burroughs said the centre has dealt with young people who have committed rape and have not been charged, and others who have committed minor indecent assaults who have come through the criminal justice system.

He emphasised that the children visiting the centre are already living in the community and pose no risk to local residents.

Detective Inspector Andy Watts, who led the inquiry into the attempted rape, attempted murder and kidnapping of the six-year-old girl, said: "If the centre successfully gets the young offenders to think about their offending, then it is going to be a good thing."

The treatment is derived from that used for the treatment of adult sex offenders and is based around therapy. But according to the NSPCC it has faster and better results when applied to child offenders.

The basis of the therapy is that the offender has to realise that people's feelings and actions are determined by their thinking.

Mr Burroughs said: "The focus of the work depends on achieving some level of insight with the young people which allows them to understand that it is possible to change their behaviour and the way they feel by changing the way they think."

He said: "It is a positive experience for them. We have people whose court order finishes halfway through the course, but they keep coming to meetings."

Mr Burroughs said there was no stereotype for a young sex offender, and the approach took a great deal of time and knowledge, but nationally the re-offending rate for young sex offenders was extremely low.

NSPCC area children's services manager Kevin Gibbs said: "If you respond to it with proper and effective treatment you can make a difference and stop them developing into a sex offender in adulthood.

"We can actually reduce the number of adult sex offenders."