Government to review non-custodial sentence for three boys convicted of rape
The government has said it will review the “lenient” sentences given to three boys who avoided jail time for their roles in the rape of two girls.
Former Home Secretary Jess Phillips criticized the sentences given to young people who avoided jail time as sending a “bad message”, while Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said they “didn’t get any punishment”.
The hearing at Southampton Crown Court heard that two girls were raped in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, in two separate incidents, the first attack on 26 November 2024 and the second on 17 January 2025.
Three boys, two aged 15 and one aged 14, were given a youth rehabilitation order (YRO), while the older pair were subject to intensive supervision and supervision (ISS).
Ms Phillips, who until earlier this month was the minister responsible for the protection and protection against violence against women and girls, told BBC Radio 4: Today program: “He seems to me to be overly lenient and has a broader public interest beyond the case in the message he sends.
“Going through a rape trial like this will not be a simple thing for these young women; it will take months if not years for any justice to be achieved and I am afraid to say it sends a bad message.
“Apparently these teenagers were raping and bragging about raping these poor young women so they could put the content on social media and share it with their friends.”
Ms Badenoch shared on
“When they appeared in front of the judge this weekend, they received a ‘rehabilitation order’ and walked out without spending a day behind bars.
“He is not in prison, custody or a young offenders institution.
“The judge said, ‘None of you need to go to jail.’ What message does this send to rapists?
“The crime could not have been more serious, but the punishment was certainly no punishment. This is a collapse of consequences, and the rot has spread throughout the justice system.”
Hampshire Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones has offered to support victims’ families if they wish to appeal the “leniency” of the sentences.
He said: “This is an extremely disturbing case. I am deeply concerned that these children think they can commit such horrific acts and post them online and avoid going to jail.”
“Their sentences clearly reflect their focus on rehabilitation rather than criminalization. “They are far too lenient.
“They offer little consolation to their victims as they try to rebuild their lives after such harrowing experiences.
“It is vital that young people are educated about sexual violence and misogynistic attitudes if we are to prevent such crimes from happening again.”
A government spokesman said the attorney general’s office had received “multiple” requests for sentences to be reviewed under the Extreme Leniency Scheme.
He said: “We share the public’s shock at the details of this horrific case and our thoughts are with the young victims at this sad time.
“Law officials are examining the case with great care and attention.”
At the sentencing hearing held on Thursday, a 15-year-old boy was sentenced to three years of YRO with 180 days of ISS for the rape of two girls and two charges of indecent images.
The court heard he was diagnosed with ADHD and “long-standing anxiety”.
A second 15-year-old boy was given the same sentence on three counts of rape against each of the two victims and four counts of indecent photography related to the filming of the events.
The court was told he had an IQ in the “bottom 1 per cent of his contemporaries” and was diagnosed with ADHD.
The third boy, aged 14, was sentenced to 18 months YRO on two counts of rape for encouraging the second defendant and presenting indecent images in the incident in January.
It was stated that he had “mild cognitive impairment”.
Judge Nicholas Rowland told the defendants: “I need to remember that you are not little adults. I need to think about how likely you are to do serious things again, and I need to make sure you don’t do serious things again in the future.”
Announcing his sentence, he added: “I must avoid needlessly criminalizing these children, understand the effects of their behavior and support their reintegration into society.”
He added that “peer pressure played a big role in what happened.”
The judge praised the “courage” of the two victims in giving evidence at the hearing and giving evidence about how the crimes affected them.
The complainant of the first incident told the court: “No one deserves the trauma of being raped.”
The second girl explained in her statement that she continued to have nightmares and added: “The way I was before the incident is completely gone and sometimes I feel sorry for my old self.”
The judge told them: “The sentence I impose cannot compensate for what happened to you.”
The children were also given a three-month curfew and given a 10-year restraining order preventing them from contacting their victims.
Prosecutor Jodie Mittel KC told the hearing that in the November incident, the girl, who was 15 at the time, visited the first defendant after meeting him on Snapchat.
The prosecutor said that after performing a sexual act on the boy, who was 14 at the time, he became “frightened and worried” when the second defendant arrived, and the couple raped him while the incident was being filmed.
Ms. Mittel said videos of the incident later circulated, with others making jokes about her and messages calling her a “slut.”
In the January incident, the 14-year-old complainant was raped in a field near the Fordingbridge rest area while the incident was also being filmed.
