A teenage girl who was raped by two boys who avoided jail has issued a direct challenge to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, asking why she was forced to endure a trial if the perpetrators would not be incarcerated.
The victim, now 16, spoke anonymously to the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, describing the judge's decision as a 'rock straight in my face.' She said the sentence 'almost made it seem as if what the boys did was not OK, but it was OK in the eyes of the law because they were still children.'
The Attacks
The trial at Southampton Crown Court heard that the two girls were raped in separate incidents in Fordingbridge, Hampshire. The first attack occurred on November 26, 2024, and the second on January 17, 2025. The perpetrators, both aged 15, were given youth rehabilitation orders (YRO) with intensive supervision and surveillance (ISS).
Prosecutor Jodie Mittel KC told the court that one victim visited one of the defendants in November 2024 after meeting him on Snapchat. After performing sex acts on the boy, then 14, she became 'scared and anxious' when the second defendant arrived. The pair raped her while filming the incident. Videos were later circulated, and she received abusive messages calling her a 'slag.'
The second victim, then 14, was raped in a field near Fordingbridge recreation ground in January 2025, also filmed by the attackers.
Sentencing and Judge's Remarks
In the sentencing hearing, one 15-year-old received a three-year YRO with 180 days of ISS for two rapes and two indecent image charges. The court heard he had ADHD and 'long-standing anxiety.' A second 15-year-old received the same sentence for three rapes and four counts of taking indecent images. The court was told his IQ was in the 'bottom 1% of his contemporaries' and he also had ADHD. A third boy, 14, received an 18-month YRO for two rape charges and an indecent image offence.
Judge Nicholas Rowland stated: '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.'
Reactions and Appeals
The victim's mother appealed directly to the Prime Minister: 'If it were 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.'
Hampshire Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones criticised the judge's praise for the boys' good conduct from charge to sentence, noting that they had not entered guilty pleas and had put the victims through a trial. 'The police often refer to rape as the worst offence you can survive… and the victims will have to live with the consequences of this for the rest of their lives,' she said.
A Government spokesman confirmed that the attorney general's office had received multiple requests for the sentences to be reviewed under the Unduly Lenient Scheme. '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 spokesman said.
