Judge lets ‘bright lad’ who stabbed girl 10 times avoid jail

[IwantToRetire]

The young offender – who cannot be named because he is under 18 – had become obsessed with the girl at his school. He began using fake social media accounts to send her messages after she rejected his advances in December last year.

One morning in March, he waited for the girl near the shop and asked her out on a date. When she said no, he followed her, with a knife in his pocket and stabbed her at least 10 times, inflicting cuts to her neck, hands and face.

Footage released by the police shows the boy chasing the girl through the store with the knife in his hand.

...

Transcripts of court hearings in the case, seen by The Telegraph, reveal that Judge Ian Lawrie KC’s principal consideration was the offender’s rehabilitation.

“You’re a bright lad – I’m going to impose a curfew,” the judge said.
“You’re not to contact directly or indirectly by any means, social media or otherwise, [the victim] and her mother, and also keep out of mischief.

“My own view is custody is the last place you should be... What I’m trying to do is find a sentence that’s best constructed to help you and give you support.”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/10/27/teenager-stabbed-girl-judge-ian-lawrie/

And also https://archive.is/RGbaZ

How bright is the victim, and what is the proportion of bright to dim? How intelligent must someone be to get away with stabbing someone less so?

Nazi Germany certainly had some ideas regarding this.

It reminds me of that "extraordinarily able young lady" Lavinia Woodward.

What the fuck can we do about this?! There must be something. How is that poor girl. What message does this send to our daughters, and our sons? Fucking hell. you know that thread that says something like ‘what else has JKR not said anything about?’ I feel like appealing to her to say something about THIS. Just because I feel so fucking powerless.

If anyone finds an effective route to challenge this please let us know.

I really dont know as I think someone upthread said we cant use the formal process of too lenient a sentence because it was a youth court.

But we could write to our MP. If they are Labour then really have a go at them going on about how they are going to tackle violence against women, and then this. And MPs of any other party just ask then to challenge the Government.

I dont know enough about the law, but can one challenge the Judge for bringing the legal system into disrepute or something.

NB AI generated:

1. To Challenge the Sentence (The "Unduly Lenient Sentence" Scheme)
If your goal is to have the non-custodial sentence reviewed and potentially increased to prison time, you cannot do this through a conduct complaint. Instead, you must report it to the Attorney General's office.

• Who to contact: The Attorney General’s Office via the GOV.UK Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme.
• The Rule: Anyone from the public can request a review if they believe a sentence passed in a Crown Court is far too soft.
• Strict Deadline: The Attorney General only has 28 days from the date of the sentencing to review the case and decide whether to refer it to the Court of Appeal.

2. To Complain About the Judge's Comments (Language & Conduct)
If you want to complain about the specific language used by Judge Lawrie—such as telling a violent attacker to "keep out of mischief" or minimizing the behavior by calling a teenager "temperamental"—this falls under judicial conduct. 1, 2]

• Who to contact: The Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO).
• What they do: The JCIO investigates whether a judge's vocabulary, tone, or remarks during a trial brought the judiciary into disrepute or failed to show appropriate impartiality/seriousness. 1, 2]
• The Outcome: If the complaint is upheld, the JCIO cannot change the boy's sentence. However, they can formally discipline, reprimand, or issue formal warnings to the judge. 1, 2]

Or maybe just start a petition. would be great to get it on the Parliament petition site.

Sorry for 3 posts in a row.

The other thing that is really disgusting in the "mischief" remark is that even national news papers and the recent tv series to point out that boys and young men learn about "being a man" from what they see or hear.

Why is no one asking why a boy of that age thinks having a knife is "normal".

Why as boy of that age thinking if a girl rejects me, as a "man" can physically attack her for rejecting me.

All this guff from the Government about tackling misogyny and male violence against women and they make out is is just a few "odd balls" when it is in fact permeating through out society.

Who did this boy learn this response from.

I think what the judge meant to say is that the boy isn’t a danger to people who actually matter (I.e., males). Being a danger to women and girls isn’t a big deal. Certainly not a big enough deal to inconvenience a bright young man over. It’s just another case of women getting all hysterical about being stabbed, as though it’s a big issue or something.

I really don't know,as a teen boy growing up it was unacceptable to hit a lassie even though I grew up in a DV household both mum and I had violence inflicted upon us and I vowed never to be like that I'm late 50s.
Does the hatred come from that red pill shite and the porn,strangling,slapping,spitting etc that's a world away from my teen awakenings at 15.
As I've said a stabbing and staying out of mischief is wholly unacceptable.

If someone knows how to start a petition I’ll sign it.

Surely a custodial sentence isn’t solely about chance of rehabilitation - what about punishment?

Is the judge going even capable of determining that a custodial sentence would be of no benefit in rehabilitation, if there has been no psychiatric evaluation?

The judgement is appalling.

Maybe he was inspired by that show 'Adolescence' - this attack seems eerily similar to it.

That kid is dangerous, he’ll kill at some point . An awful decision.

He will probably only kill a woman though, so no need for anyone to get too worried!

Thank you for this advice, and sorry you needed to have to do that, but glad if this has helped you and yours now feeling safer.

Absolutely this.

Having been in the receiving end of a misogynistic judge in family court, I could not agree more.

If there isnt scope to challenge the actual sentence is there scope to challenge and raise a complaint about the judge's professionalism and conduct? The language around this is dangerous, let alone the boy.

I saw this video when it was first released and it is utterly terrifying. A 14 year old knows this is not ok. What an earth is the judge thinking.
Poor girl - what about her peace of mind?

Mischief? Fuck my life. There’s no bloody hope is there? That poor, poor girl. And God help his next victim because he’s pretty much guaranteed to escalate this now he’s got away with it so easily once…

I can not believe this is still happening!! Judges like this need to be forced to leave and have previous cases reviewed.
Why have there been no changes?! Why hasn’t the PM addressed this scandal that just keeps happening?
Not only is this grossly unfair, and completely treats girls and women as less than… it encourages violence against girls and women…. Nothing will actually happen. It also encourages the boy to do more and worse.

And then he also stabbed the shop keeper who tried to intervene, he stabbed not one but two people.
So this judgement sends yet another message, there will be no justice for heros who try to protect women either.

The poor girl

It must have been a youth court that sentenced the 3 teenage gang rapists in Fordingbridge, and I remember putting in a complaint about that sentencing (along with many, many other people).

Does anyone know more? How can we complain about this?

And the sentencing was broadcast on the same day the government announced £15m in the budget for tackling VAWG. They could start with a minimum custodial sentence for physical violence.

This, all of this. It is disturbing to think boys and men still seem to be the heirarchy and what we should protect when in reality it is girls and women that keep the world going. Sickening.

I do wonder what the point of spending money on tackling male violence against women and girls is, when stabbing one 10 times is just mischief.

Apart from funnelling money into more jobs for the third sector of course.

Mischief is such a weird, innocent, Enid Blyton style word that just does not work at all in this context.

Oh young Bill's been up to mischief again.
Has he? What's he done this time?
Oh he just stabbed a girl ten times. The cheeky young scamp.
Oh whats he like eh?

I said the same on another thread about this. People have complained about this sentence and got the equivalent of a shrug, not our issue, the “scheme” is not applicable to youth courts.