Three teenage boys convicted of knife-point rape and other serious sexual offences against two teenage girls in Hampshire have avoided custodial sentences. Judge Nicholas Rowland said he wanted to avoid “criminalising these children unnecessarily” and instead imposed youth rehabilitation orders ranging from 18 months to three years.
The boys, aged between 13 and 14 at the time of the offences, physically overpowered and sexually assaulted the girls, aged 14 and 15, in separate incidents two months apart. Prosecutors said the attacks were “brazenly filmed” on mobile phones. One 15-year-old was convicted of three counts of rape and four of taking indecent images; he received 180 days of intensive supervision.
The judge cited the boys’ young age, low intelligence, and limited understanding of consent. One had an IQ in the “bottom 1%” and ADHD; another had ADHD and anxiety; the third had a mild cognitive impairment. Judge Rowland stressed the seriousness of the crimes but said he wanted to support the boys’ reintegration into society.
Hampshire’s police and crime commissioner, Donna Jones, called the sentences “far too lenient” and said they “offer little comfort to their victims”. She offered support if the victims appeal. The first victim, aged 14, was threatened with a knife, forced to leave her phone, and raped in a field. The second, aged 15, was raped in an underpass after meeting one boy on Snapchat; a video of her 90-minute ordeal was shared online.
In victim impact statements, one girl said she wanted to die, and the other said she felt “ashamed, insecure and uncomfortable in my own body”. The judge praised their bravery. Siobhan Blake of the CPS noted a trend of increasingly serious youth-on-youth sexual violence.
