Two teens who were spared custody for rape of 2 girls now sentenced to 4 years’ detention | UK | News

Two 15-year-old boys who escaped custody for raping two girls in Fordingbridge have been jailed for four years after the Court of Appeal ruled their sentences were “unduly lenient”. The 15-year-olds, known as X and Y, were given a youth rehabilitation order (YRO) and placed on the supervision program by a judge at Southampton Crown Court in May over the rape of two girls in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, in November 2024 and January 2025.

A third boy, 14, known as Z, was also given a YRO for encouraging one of the offenders and committing an indecent image offense in relation to the attack in January. The judge who handed down the sentence in May said he “must avoid unnecessarily criminalizing these children” and that detention was a “last resort”. However, the Attorney General dismissed the sentences as “overly lenient” to the Court of Appeal days later. At the hearing on Wednesday, the Attorney General’s lawyers said that detention was “the only appropriate punishment”, while the children’s lawyers said that the sentences were correct and that the focus was on improving the sentences.

At the hearing on Wednesday, the Attorney General’s lawyers said that detention was “the only appropriate punishment”, while the children’s lawyers said that the sentences were correct and that the focus was on improving the sentences.

On Thursday, Chief Justice Baroness Carr, Judge Edis and Mrs Justice Norton sentenced X and Y to four years’ imprisonment, while Z’s sentence remained unchanged.

Reading a summary of her decisions to X and Y, who appeared via video link from Southampton Crown Court, Baroness Carr said: “We have decided that we must vary your sentences and you should both be remanded into custody.”

He continued: “What you did is so bad we have no choice.”

Addressing Z, who also appeared at Southampton Crown Court, Baroness Carr said: “Because you are so young and find it so difficult to really understand things, and because you have only been involved once, we have decided that we do not need to vary your sentence.”

The judge also said sentencing judge Justice Nicholas Rowland faced a “difficult sentencing challenge” but said a custodial sentence for X and Y was “inevitable”.

At the sentencing hearing, Judge Rowland said that although X and Y’s crimes “exceeded the custody threshold” and posed a “high risk of serious harm” to the young women, he had to take their backgrounds into account.

He said X had been diagnosed with ADHD and “long-standing anxiety,” while Y had an IQ in the bottom 1%, had ADHD with “extreme neurodevelopmental impairment,” and looked “more like an eight-year-old.”

X had previously been given a three-year youth rehabilitation order (YRO) with 180 days of intensive supervision and supervision for his rape and taking indecent photographs of both victims.

Y received the same sentence for three charges of rape against each of the two victims and four counts of making indecent images by filming the events.

Z was sentenced to 18 months YRO for two rape charges and indecent images offenses regarding the second victim after encouraging the second defendant.

But Baroness Carr said Judge Rowland “underestimated the seriousness of the offense and the serious harm it caused to the complainants”.

He continued: “Taken together, the two incidents involved such an intervention that an immediate and significant period of detention was required.”

The three judges also extended restraining orders preventing X and Y from contacting the victims from 10 years to an indefinite order.

Baroness Carr also said there had been “ill-informed and inappropriate comments” about the case; He had previously criticized the Crown Prosecution Service for inaccuracies in a press release issued when the boys were first sentenced in May, which was not corrected for several days.