from the Telegraph today
Three teenage boys spared prison terms for raping two girls could have their “unduly lenient” sentences overturned after a public outcry. Lord Hermer, the Attorney General, is considering whether to refer the case to the Court of Appeal to decide if the three boys should have a tougher punishment.
It is understood Lord Hermer’s office has received a number of submissions requesting that he refer the case to the Court of Appeal under the unduly lenient sentence scheme.
The three teenage boys raped the two girls in separate attacks which they “brazenly filmed” on their phones, the court was told.
The film showed the boys laughing and encouraging each other as they sexually assaulted the girls, one of whom they raped at knifepoint.
Two of the boys were 14 when they carried out their attacks in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, in 2024 and 2025. The third boy was 13 when he aided and abetted the assaults on the second girl.
The boys were given youth rehabilitation orders and walked out of court with 11 rape convictions between them.
Explaining his sentencing decision at Southampton Crown Court, Judge Nicholas Rowland said: “I should avoid criminalising these children unnecessarily and understand the effects of their behaviour and support their reintegration into society.”
The judge did stress the “seriousness” of the boys’ crimes and said their filming of the attacks made them even “more serious”. But he then emphasised their “very young” ages and said: “None of you need to go to prison today.”
Alicia Kearns, the shadow safeguarding minister, said she was seeking a review of the sentences as unduly lenient.
“This gang lured and gang-raped at knifepoint a young girl while they filmed it, laughing. I will refer their sentences as unduly lenient – let’s see if this time the Government again says the rapists are too immature to receive stronger sentences,” she said.
“Who are these disgraceful judges? Judge Nicholas Rowland praised the boys for their conduct during the trial. ‘I think of you as very young and none of you have been in any big trouble before.’”
Laura Trott, the shadow education secretary said: “No custodial sentence for a gang rape is sickening. The judge even praises the boys involved. This cannot be allowed to stand.”
Donna Jones, the Hampshire police and crime commissioner, backed any appeal against the “too lenient” sentences.
“I’m deeply concerned these boys felt they could carry out such terrifying acts and share them online and not go to prison,” she said.
“Their sentences reflect a clear focus on rehabilitation rather than criminalisation. They are far too lenient.”
Ms Jones added: “Should the victims and their families take the decision to appeal the sentences, I will offer my support.”
‘Labour’s soft-touch sentencing policy’
Nick Timothy, the shadow justice secretary has written to David Lammy, the Justice Secretary, to rethink proposals to imprison fewer teenagers.
“These despicable gang-rapists deserve to be put behind bars, but Labour’s soft-touch sentencing policy means even fewer young criminals will be sent to prison,” he said.
“David Lammy should drop his dangerous plans to weaken sentences for violent criminals and support this case’s referral to the unduly lenient sentencing scheme.”
Det Sgt Naomi Stocker from Hampshire Police praised the girls’ “immense bravery” and added that “we are liaising with our partners at the Crown Prosecution Service in relation to the sentence passed”.
The victim of the first attack was 15 when she was raped three times in an underpass by the River Avon in Fordingbridge, during what she had thought was a first date.
She had travelled to meet one of the boys for the first time, after he had begun a “relationship” with her on the social media platform Snapchat.
But then two other boys appeared. During the trial, the court heard she was “petrified”, felt “cornered and trapped” and feared being thrown into the river.
The boys shared a video of the attacks on social media, resulting in her receiving abusive messages, prosecutors said.
During the sentencing hearing, the girl spoke anonymously from behind a screen and said: “No one deserves the trauma of being raped. I will never get that innocence back.”
‘All I want to do is die’
She also wrote a poem directed towards her attackers which included the line: “All I want to do is die. I no longer have fear for when that comes.”
The second girl was 14 when she met the boys at Fordingbridge Recreation Ground, and was raped repeatedly in a nearby field.
Forensic evidence revealed her leggings had been cut with a “sharp instrument”.
Video footage seen in court during the trial showed her lying motionless on the ground with “her face buried in her hands”, while another boy was heard shouting words of encouragement.
In a statement read on her behalf immediately before sentencing, she described suffering “flashbacks”.
“Sometimes I can still feel their hands on me,” her statement said.
She added: “I feel ashamed, insecure and uncomfortable in my own body. The person I was before has completely gone.”