A government minister fought back tears as he said two girls 'deserve justice' after two teenage boys were spared jail for raping them. The trial at Southampton Crown Court heard the girls were raped on two separate occasions in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, in November 2024 and January 2025.
The boys, both aged 15, were given youth rehabilitation orders (YRO) with intensive supervision and surveillance (ISS). Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones heard testimony from one victim, who said the judge's decision felt like a 'rock straight in my face'.
Speaking anonymously on the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, the now-16-year-old victim said the decision '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'. Her mother appealed to Sir Keir Starmer, asking: 'If it was your daughter, would you be happy?'
Mr Jones said: 'Those girls deserve justice, as do their families... other boys need to know that they can't behave in that way and get away with it.' The attorney general will consider whether to refer the case to the Court of Appeal. Sir Keir called the case 'appalling' and said law officers were 'urgently reviewing the sentences'.
Judge Nicholas Rowland explained his sentence by saying he should 'avoid criminalising these children unnecessarily' and noted 'peer pressure played a large part'. Conservative MP Robert Jenrick condemned the sentences, saying 'the perpetrators of these acts have to go to jail'.
