Rhianna Benson
Warning: This article contains discussion of rape, which some readers may find distressing.
Crime commissioners will review the case of three teenage boys who, despite being convicted of 11 counts of rape between them, avoided jail time.
Southampton Crown Court this week heard that the group - two 15-year-olds and another, 14 - had attacked two girls in separate incidents in Fordingbridge, Hampshire.
The first attack on 26 November 2024, and the second on 17 January 2025.
Advert
Each of the three boys, who were 14 and 13 when the rapes occurred, was handed a youth rehabilitation order (YRO). The elder pair were also told they'd receive supervision and surveillance (ISS). Further, one of the 15-year-olds was given a three-year YRO, with 180 days of ISS, for the rape of each of the two girls, as well as two charges of indecent images.
The other received the same sentence for three charges of rape against each of the two victims, as well as four counts of taking indecent images in relation to filming of the incidents.
The youngest of the three received an 18-month YRO for two charges of rape in the January incident, having encouraged the second defendant, and an offence of indecent images.
Lastly, the teens were each given a three-month curfew, as well as a 10-year retraining order against their victims.
Sentencing them, Judge Nicholas Rowland told the trio: "I have to remember that you are not small adults. I have to think about 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.
"I should avoid criminalising these children unnecessarily and understand the effects of their behaviour and support their reintegration into society.”
The attorney general's office has since received a flood of requests to review the sentences, deeming them 'lenient'.
A spokesperson for the British government says outraged onlookers have called for the enactment of the Unduly Lenient Scheme, adding: "We share the public's shock at the details of this horrific case, and our thoughts are with the young victims during this distressing time.
"The law officers are urgently reviewing the case with the utmost care and attention."
The news comes hours after former Home Office minister Jess Phillips condemned the decision made in court this week, saying it sends a 'bad message' regarding the severity of sexual assault crimes.
"It seems unduly lenient to me and has wider public interest beyond just the case itself in the message that it sends," she previously hit out.
"For those young women going through a rape trial like this will not have been a simple thing to do, it will have been many, many months, if not years, to achieve any sort of justice, and I am afraid to say it sends a bad message."
Phillips added: "These young people, it seems, were essentially raping for content in order to put it on social media and share it with their friends, gloating about raping these poor young women."
Donna Jones, Hampshire's Police and Crime Commissioner, seconded Phillips' verdict, vowing today to support the victims' families in the case that they appeal the 'leniency' of the sentences given.
"Their sentences reflect a clear focus on rehabilitation rather than criminalisation. They are far too lenient," Jones said. "As they stand, they offer little comfort to their victims as they try to rebuild their lives after such harrowing experiences."
Prosecutor Jodie Mittel KC told the court that the girl in the first incident, who'd been 15 at the time, had met the first defendant on Snapchat before visiting him in person. The girl later became 'scared and anxious' when, after she began performing sex acts on the boy, the second defendant joined them.
Mittel told the judge the victim felt 'cornered and trapped' and 'petrified' as the two defendants raped her.
The third had filmed the incident, later sending the videos around, reducing the girl to bullying.
The incident in January saw a 14-year-old girl raped in a field near Fordingbridge recreation ground in an attack that was also filmed.
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.