The Court of Appeal will review the non-custodial sentences given to three teenage boys for raping two girls, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced. The boys, aged 14 and 15 at sentencing, received youth rehabilitation orders, sparking public outcry.
Starmer stated that the Attorney General, Richard Hermer KC, has referred the case, saying: “There are questions about the sentence… the attorney general has now exercised that power.” The Prime Minister described the case as “really distressing” and praised the victims’ courage.
The sentences relate to two separate incidents in Fordingbridge, Hampshire. In November 2024, a 15-year-old girl was raped by two 14-year-old boys. In January 2024, the three boys threatened a 14-year-old girl with a knife; two raped her while the third encouraged and filmed. The judge imposed three-year and 18-month youth rehabilitation orders, citing a desire to avoid criminalising the children.
One victim, now 16, told the BBC: “What was the point in putting me through that?” She 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.” MP Jess Phillips called the sentences “unduly lenient,” and Hampshire Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones said they were “far too lenient.”
