Attorney General Refers Sentences of Three Teenage Boys Convicted of Rape to Court of Appeal

Attorney General Lord Hermer referred the case of three teenage boys convicted of rape to the Court of Appeal after they received youth rehabilitation orders rather than jail time. The boys, two aged 14 and one aged 13 at the time of the offences, were convicted in March at Southampton Crown Court of raping two girls in separate incidents in Fordingbridge, Hampshire.

The attacks occurred in November 2024 and January 2025.

The victims were then aged 15 and 14. Judge Nicholas Rowland sentenced the boys to youth rehabilitation orders, stating he wanted to avoid criminalising the very young boys and to support their reintegration into society. He also praised the boys for their behaviour during the trial.

The boys cannot be named because they are children. Lord Hermer told BBC Radio 4's Political Thinking with Nick Robinson podcast that he had no doubt the sentence had to be referred. He said he wanted to know the detail as quickly as possible so uncertainty was not hanging over the two girls.

As part of his consideration, he read the victim statements. One rape victim told the BBC that hearing the sentence was like a rock in my face. The second girl told BBC Newsnight she wanted to be able to go on a walk without being scared.

Her father said the attack caused a lifelong impact on his daughter. Lord Hermer praised the bravery of those girls for putting themselves through the ordeal of a trial and then, when they got those sentences, to carry on campaigning to secure justice.

He said courts across the country sentence people to very long periods in prison for sexual offences and that the government is determined to make sure the criminal justice system works for victims.

Under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme, members of the public can ask the attorney general to review a sentence. If the attorney general and expert lawyers agree a sentence is out of line with normal expectations, the case can be referred to the Court of Appeal, where three of the most senior judges in England and Wales will hear arguments.

The Sentencing Council for England and Wales states that even in very serious cases courts should prioritise rehabilitation for children and use custody as a last resort.

Jess Phillips said sentencing guidelines do not take into account a growing trend of children sexually abusing other children. She said the Southport Inquiry outlines that we focus too heavily on the perpetrator and their vulnerabilities, and don't think about the public safety element.

She said the girls in the Fordingbridge case have been asked to suck it up for the sake of the perception of what is best for the perpetrators.

She also said a contributing factor to the rise in young people committing sexual abuse is the growth in online pornography, access to the most heinous things online for this generation that just simply didn't exist in prior generations.