Experts angry girl used as 'joke'

Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O. Photo / Getty Images

A Sydney radio shockjock is blaming enemies in the media for the row that erupted over the on-air extraction of a rape allegation from a 14-year-old girl.

A team of police, health and community services officials are now investigating the rape claim, which the girl said happened when she was 12.

But the girl's appearance on Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O's show on 2DayFM, and Sandilands' response to the rape allegation, has outraged listeners, child welfare bodies, psychiatrists and politicians.

The girl was taken on the show by her mother who, Sandilands said on the news.com.au page The Punch, had been concerned that her daughter was on drugs or was sexually active.

As part of a regular gimmick the girl - who did not want to appear - was strapped to a lie detector and her mother asked if she was having sex.

The girl replied: "I've already told you the story about this - oh, okay, I got raped when I was 12 years old."

Sandilands asked: "Is that the only experience you've had?"

The segment was then closed.

The girls' appearance and Sandiland's response infuriated child welfare workers.

The president of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, Professor Louise Newman, told ABC radio that the experience - presented as popular entertainment - could have been very damaging for the girl. "It was a very poor response and we now have a situation which potentially might discourage other people who have been victims of sexual abuse actually disclosing that or discussing it in an appropriate way," she said.

In his comments on The Punch, Sandilands said the girl's allegation was one of the few times he had been "sideswiped" in his career, and he had been horrified.

"To tell you the truth I was floundering around, signalling ... that we had to get off the air.

"I didn't realise I had said 'have you had any other experiences?'."

Sandilands said he had since spoken to the girl's family, and 2DayFM had offered counselling.

"I've certainly pissed off a lot of journos over the years but I'm sad that they're using the rape of a 12-year-old girl to have a go at me ...

"As far as an apology goes, the only person I feel sorry for is the girl."

New South Wales Community Services Minister Linda Burney told ABC radio it was completely unacceptable 2DayFM had not sought advice before allowing the segment to air.

"To have a 14-year-old come on as a practical joke ... where she actually said 'I don't want to do this, I'm scared', and they pushed on - I found it really an appalling exercise in poor judgment and in very bad taste."

Child protection group Braveheart said the girl should be praised for breaking "the silence on child sexual assault".

- additional reporting AAP