Three teenage boys convicted of rape and serious sexual assault of girls as young as 14 have been given youth rehabilitation orders and ordered to pay £26 in court fees, the Guardian has learned. The cases, which occurred over the past year in north-east England, were tried under youth court rules that prioritise rehabilitation over punishment.
One victim, aged 15 at the time of the rape, said: 'It feels like he just got away with it.' She expressed fear of encountering her attacker and said such sentences give dangerous boys a sense of impunity. A justice group described the £26 fee as less than a parking fine.
In one case, a 14-year-old boy was found guilty of raping a victim aged 16 or over in August 2023, along with sexual assault by penetration and sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl. He was sentenced at Teesside magistrates court on 4 December 2025 to a youth rehabilitation order and placed on the sex offender register for 30 months.
In another case, a 15-year-old boy convicted of sexual assault by penetration against a 14-year-old girl in April 2024 was given a youth rehabilitation order, placed on the sex offender register for 42 months, and issued a restraining order. A third case involved a 17-year-old convicted of raping a 15-year-old girl in September 2025; he received a youth rehabilitation order and 30 months on the sex offender register, and has since turned 18.
The £26 surcharge is mandatory for all youth defendants receiving rehabilitation orders, regardless of the offence, and funds victim services. The victim in the third case, now 16, said: 'I didn’t feel as though the punishment given was justice for me... This isn’t a deterrent for others.' She added that imprisonment would allow her attacker to reflect and protect others.
The cases came to light because official victim advocates from the Rape and Sexual Abuse Counselling Centre (RSACC) in Darlington and County Durham were appalled by the sentences and decided to expose them. The revelations follow public anger over a similar case in Hampshire, where three teenage boys received rehabilitation orders for rape and sexual assault, prompting the attorney general to refer the sentences to the Court of Appeal.
