Girl who was raped by two teenage boys who were spared jail says the sentence ‘hit like a rock’
A girl who was raped by two teenage boys has spoken out after they were spared jail sentences because the judge wanted to ‘avoid criminalising these children unnecessarily’.
Two girls were raped in separate attacks in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, in November 2024 and January 2025 by two 15-year-old boys who were both given non-custodial sentences.
Southampton Crown Court heard that the boys recorded the rapes and later shared some of the footage online.
On Thursday (21 May), the attackers, both aged 15, were given youth rehabilitation orders and made subject to intensive supervision and surveillance, but were spared jail time.
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In a sentencing that’s caused backlash across the UK, Judge Nicholas Rowland told the defendants: “I have to remember that you are not small adults.
“I have to think how likely you are to do serious things again, and I need to make sure you do not do serious things again in the future.”
Explaining his sentence, he added: “I should avoid criminalising these children unnecessarily and understand the effects of their behaviour and support their reintegration into society.”
The judge added that ‘peer pressure played a large part in what went on’.
One of the victims, now 16, who was raped aged 15 in an underpass by the River Avon, has bravely spoken out and said the decision ‘hit like a rock,’ in a new interview with the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg.
Speaking anonymously alongside her family, she said: “The words hit like a rock, straight in my face. He almost made it seem as if what the boys did was not okay, but it was okay in the eyes of the law, because they were still children.”
When asked what it meant to her, the victim added: “It meant that, why did I sit and put myself through the pain of going to court, going through a trial, reliving everything because of evidence, and watching it all happen again?
“It sort of gave me a sense of, what’s the point? Like, what was the point in putting me through that?”
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has since spoken out about the case, calling it ‘appalling’ and insisting it is ‘right that law officers are urgently reviewing the sentences’.
In a post on X responding to the interview, he wrote: “This is a harrowing and brave testimony.
“The girls at the heart of this case have shown extraordinary bravery and strength in heinous circumstances.
“This is an appalling case, and it is right that law officers are urgently reviewing the sentences.”
It comes after the girl’s mother issued an appeal to Stamer in the BBC interview, asking: “If it was your daughter, your niece, your son, your nephew, your family member, would you be happy?
“Because we’re not happy, and I don’t think any other member of the public will be happy too. So you’re in a position of power to help, so please help.”
Prosecutor Jodie Mittel KC told the court that one of the girls had visited one of the defendants in November 2024 after meeting him on Snapchat.
Mittel said that after performing sex acts on the boy, who was then 14, she became 'scared and anxious’ when the second defendant arrived, and the pair raped her while the incident was filmed.
The prosecutor said that afterwards, videos of the incident had been sent around, and other people made jokes about the girl, and she received messages calling her a ‘slag’.
The girl told the BBC she ‘wanted to die’ when she received such messages.
The second girl was 14 when she was raped in a field near Fordingbridge recreation ground in January 2025, while the incident was also filmed.
In a statement, she said: “The person I was before the incident has completely gone and sometimes I feel like I am grieving the person I used to be."
In the sentencing hearing, one of the 15-year-old boys was handed a three-year Youth Rehabilitation Order (YRO) with 180 days of intensive supervision and surveillance (ISS) for the rape of each of the two girls and two indecent images charges.
The second 15-year-old was given the same sentence for three charges of rape against each of the two victims and four counts of taking indecent images in relation to filming of the incidents.
A third boy, 14, was also given a YRO for 18 months for two charges of rape in the January incident, by encouraging the second defendant and an offence of indecent images.
What is a Youth Rehabilitation Order?
A Youth Rehabilitation Order (YRO) is a community sentence handed down to children. They can can last for up to three years and are tailored to prevent re-offending.
A YRO comes with a number of requirements, and the court may pick one or a combination depending on the severity of the offence and risk to the public. According to Slough Children First, these can include:
- Unpaid Work – between 40 and 300 hours, to be completed in 12 months
- Activity – this could consist of activities leading to reparation, such as restorative justice
- Programme – aimed at changing offending behaviour
- Prohibited activity
- Curfew (usually with electronic monitoring)
- Exclusion from certain areas
- Local authority residence
- Residence
- Mental health treatment
- Supervision
- Drug treatment
- Drug testing
- Attendance centre
- Electronic monitoring
- Education – this could consist of packages of work on basic skills, employment, training and education
- Intensive fostering – an alternative to custody, given only to young people who have committed very serious offences. You live with the foster family under their rules.
- Intensive supervision and surveillance (ISS) - an alternative to custody given those who have committed serious offences. It involves numerous contact with the YOT and an intensive work plan.
- Intoxicating substance treatment
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact the Rape Crisis England and Wales helpline on 0808 500 222, available 24/7. If you are currently in danger or need urgent medical attention, you should call 999.
Topics: Keir Starmer, Crime, UK News, News
Madison Burgess