On sale in Brum: The rapist doll that's sick

Apr 22 2007 By Jude Davidson

A sick RAPIST doll has gone on open sale at a Midland toy and comic shop.

And last night Forbidden Planet, based in Birmingham city centre, was accused of trivialising sex crime by selling the six-inch action figure.

The doll is based on a character from a forthcoming Hollywood movie, Grindhouse, and is named on the packaging as 'Rapist Number One'.

The marketing campaign to promote the evil toy, which retails at £11.99, includes the chilling statement: "With a name like that, you know he is going to be a hit with the ladies."

The doll is kitted out in combat jacket and trousers, has grubby brown fingernails and wears a T-shirt emblazoned with the image of a topless girl, wearing nothing more than a thong and suspenders.

It also comes with several accessories, including a gas mask and gun.

The maniacal model even has a replacement head, smeared in blood, with a chunk of metal thrust into one eye socket.

Quentin Tarantino co-directed Grindhouse in which he stars as the rapist - which the action figure is based on.

The Hollywood star has previously attracted controversy, writing and directing movies riddled with gore and violence.

He was accused of sadistic tendencies after a torture scene in his first big hit, Reservoir Dogs, horrified many film fans.

But marketing a doll based on a rapist has brought further condemnation for the film-maker and the Birmingham shop.

The Virginia Tech massacre last week, has also heightened fears that violent merchandise - including DVDs, computer games and toys - has a direct link to deranged behaviour.

US police believe that one of the reasons crazed killer Cho Seung-Hui went on a bloody rampage was because of the influence of violent South Korean cult film, Oldboy.

The movie was recently praised by Tarantino.

Now there is concern that the rapist doll could also warp impressionable minds.

Helena Hayward, spokesperson for Midlands-based Family and Youth Concern, was scathing about the terror toy.

She said: "It is sickening that a rapist doll has been produced, let alone sold as film merchandise, given the powerful influence films and graphic images have on young minds.

"Reducing sexual violence of the most awful kind to an action figure not only trivialises rape, but equates it with child's play.

"The message children will get is that rape is an acceptable activity, and like the exploits of other action figures, something exciting to be aspired to."

Forbidden Planet refused to explain why it was stocking the disturbing doll. But the company did state that it would only be sold to over-18s.

The popular store specialises in comics and sci-fi models and promotes a variety of superhero figures, making it a popular haunt of youngsters.

When a Sunday Mercury journalist visited the shop, the rapist toy was available on a low shelf, where browsing children could easily handle it.

The toy is also available over the internet, where it is difficult to determine whether potential customers are old enough to buy stock.

Although the toy comes with an 18+ certificate, it appears on the Amazon website in the company's 'Toys And Games' section.

And Ms Hayward said Forbidden Planet's promise to refuse to sell to kids was not acceptable, adding: "There is little comfort in the reassurance that this doll will not be sold to children.

"If kids can freely see the doll, potentially the damage is done."