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Court of Appeal referral
Three teenage boys convicted of raping two girls in separate incidents in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, were spared custodial sentences and the attorney general has now referred the case to the Court of Appeal for review under the unduly lenient sentence scheme.
“the correct outcome will prevail”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the referral was “clearly the right outcome,” after he described the case as “really distressing” and said he found it “distressing as a politician” and “as a father.”
The BBC reported that the family of one victim hoped “the correct outcome will prevail” when the case is reviewed, after the boys “walked out of court with 10 rape convictions between them.”
The sentencing involved youth rehabilitation orders, with the two 15-year-olds each receiving a three-year YRO with 180 days of intensive supervision and surveillance, while the 14-year-old boy received an 18-month YRO.
Victim impact and politics
One victim told the BBC that the judge’s decision to spare jail “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.”
Gisèle Pelicot, the French rape survivor who waived her right to anonymity during the trial of her husband and 50 men accused of raping her, told the BBC she was “deeply shocked” that the teenage boys were able to gain their freedom again.
The Guardian reported that MP Jess Phillips said the sentences were “unduly lenient” and sent a “bad message,” while the Hampshire police and crime commissioner, Donna Jones, said the sentences were “far too lenient.”
Sky News said Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch called the outcome a “disgrace,” and Reform’s Robert Jenrick said the judge had made a “very bad error.”
What happens next
The Court of Appeal will review whether the sentences were appropriate after the attorney general’s referral, and the BBC said the referral does not automatically mean the sentences will be altered.
“to begin to bring closure to the victims and their families”
The BBC reported that the attorney general, Lord Hermer, directed officials to work urgently “to begin to bring closure to the victims and their families,” and said it was “clear to me” from the victims’ statements that the girls displayed “immense bravery in coming forward.”
In the Guardian’s account, the Court of Appeal will determine whether the non-custodial sentences given to the three boys for the rape of two girls were “unduly lenient,” after the judge said he wanted to “avoid criminalising these children unnecessarily.”
The Times said the attorney-general described an “epidemic” of violence against women and girls, and that if the Court of Appeal agrees the sentence is unduly lenient, it may increase it.