The three boys accused of taking it in turns to rape a girl have been found not guilty

[Lougle]

The three boys accused of taking it in turns to rape a girl have been found not guilty on all counts despite some of the incident being filmed. How could that be? That poor girl. I believe in justice, I wasn't in court. I just can't understand it though.

Was that Ched Evans?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R_v_Evans_and_McDonald

I read this thread and then happened to read this. Obviously a totally different scenario, but it shows how difficult it is for victims of rape to obtain justice.

https://www.theguardian.com/law/2026/mar/19/mp-charlotte-nichols-on-speaking-up-about-trial-delays-ntwnfb

I think that is probably the bottom line to it.
Its started out consensual and become rape later.
Especially as the pal looked on.

But thats a hard line to draw, who did what when, and at what point did it become rape.
I don't think the jury could prove beyond all reasonable doubt.

I agree it would be hard for the jury.

Otoh I'm enraged by the arguments quoted in the itv piece : both lawyers seem to focus on whether the victim agreed to sex with one of the boys and ignore the gang rape element. I suppose they must have addressed it : it would be very hard imo to argue that she agreed to have sex with all 4 of them.

Ive only read 2 of these so far but I can see how the jury may be led to believe that the boys thought it was consensual

Am I reading this right that the youngest and oldest boys were the ones who raped her, the middle one filmed it but didnt engage with her despite being the one that put his arm round her?

And notice he is now working for his family's business so literally walked out of this, out of school and into a job.

I read that they stopped when the friend she was with intervened? Was this friend standing and watching? I’m confused by that part

She was asked if she wanted sex and said no.

A friend was present who witnessed it

it was recorded

wtaf? How much clearer could it be?

that poor girl. And the boys will feel emboldened now

So why wasn’t the friend also attacked and raped then? She stood there as well. Clearly something here doesn’t add up and why they came to that conclusion.

Less than second class and not citizens. Some people don’t see women as fully human.

Why is it a given they’d rape both of them? I don’t understand your thinking.

That’s not a defence. We only did it to one of you.

Yes, the friend could see she looked scared and eventually run in to grab her and then the boys ran off

This. How harrowing

Wow. Did you think its only rape if the little girl fights and resists a gang of boys?

Yes, it all sounds very sad.

I don’t know anymore than I have read there, but the jury obviously had reason to believe it was consensual. And they have seen the footage.

Surely, if the boys had been older, it would be rape, and the punishment would be severe.

Presumably the evidence and the footage suggested that it was consensual, and the boys have been found not guilty due to them also being under the age of consent.

It sounds like, even if it was consensual, the poor girl has regretted it immediately. It’s a horrible, horrible situation.

It sounds like everybody has got caught up in peer pressure and the result has been hugely damaging to all. Mostly the girl, undeniably, but these boys were very young as well.

I didnt see the bit where she was asked if she wanted sex and said no?

When did that bit happen, was it afterwards?

She said in cross examination that she didnt say anything, neither yes or no.

Amazing. And this is the standard of 'evidence' needed in a rape case - there was another female nearby, so if its true, why wasn't she raped as well? Must be a lie then. Incredible.

The boy claimed he saw the girl performing oral sex on the now 14-year-old. He also said he recorded a 10-second video which showed the girl performing oral sex on him whilst the now 16-year-old boy was behind her.

"Did you know what [the now 16-year-old] was doing?" Mr Gilmour asked. "He was having sex with her," the boy said. The now 15-year-old said he had told the girl to 's* it'.

Asked why he decided to film the encounter, he said: "Because at the time I used to film everything I did. I thought it was OK to film her."

Asked if he thought what he was doing was wrong, he said no. He said he sent the video to the now 16-year-old 'because he asked him to'.

Asked why he left the bush, he said: "I left because I wasn't h**d and I couldn't do anything and my mates were going. I just followed them," he said.

When questioned why he ran from the bushes, he said: "You can see us running around town all day, that's what we were doing."

Mr Gilmour asked how he felt about the incident. he said: "It doesn't make me feel very good, that these people are saying these false allegations. And my family have gone through a lot of stress about it. It's just not been nice seeing my family stressed."

He added: "I don't feel very happy about what happened."

The boy previously told the court that he left school early and worked for his family's business.

The trial has previously been told how the boys "took it in turns and swapped positions" during the incident in February 2024.

Prosecutors say part of the alleged attack on the then-13-year-old was filmed on a mobile phone and was later "circulated amongst themselves" and "others".

Previously, Ms Whittlestone said the now 14-year-old has been found unfit to stand trial.

She said the jury would be asked to find "whether he did the act" and whether he "encouraged" it to happen without the girl's consent.

The indictment contains five counts of rape. Three counts relate specifically to each boy, while two are charged as 'joint enterprise', jurors were told. Each boy denies the charges they face.

The trial continues. This was from previous reporting of trial

@CherryBlossom321 When someone wrote it was a woman barrister who fought for these men it made it feel even worse.

You have no idea if the jury thought it was consensual, or if they just didn't think there was enough evidence to 'ruin 3 boys lives'.

Can they not get them on charges of filming without her consent?

The scrote boys and their parents should be tarred and feathered.

It very sadly does happen, particularly in children with unstable home lives which often include abuse.

So she may well have consented to it. But if she did, it’s highly likely that she comes from a very troubled background. Which makes the whole sorry situation even worse.

But if she did consent, the three young boys aren’t really the the problem. It’s the poor girls parents / guardians and whoever has failed to safeguard her.

It is horrendous. That the offenders be given reduced or modified sentences due to age is one thing, but found not guilty? I'm so frightened for the girls growing up in our society.

I don’t think the words were ‘shut it’

It is the pornification of our society. Violent porn now available on our phones - don't even need to have the embarrassment of buying it in a newsagents.

It was easier for the judge/jury to believe a 13 year old virgin wanted to take it from three boys outdoors as her first sexual experience than 3 boys raped a 13 year old. I miss the days when it was presumed girls and women didn't want that kind of sex as opposed to now when it is presumed they are gagging for it. See the Belfast rape trial.

I would not advise any woman or girl to report any rape. Why go through that pain in addition to the pain of the rape?