Starmer 'appalled' as sentences reviewed after boys spared jail for raping teenage girls

Three teenage boys convicted of raping two girls in Hampshire were given community orders rather than custodial sentences, prompting an urgent government review.

PM condemns non-custodial sentences for teenage rapists as attorney general launches urgent review

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has described as "appalling" the case of three teenage boys who were spared custodial sentences after being convicted of raping two girls in Hampshire, BBC News reports.

The boys, who were aged 13 and 14 at the time of the offences, attacked the two girls — then aged 14 and 15 — in separate incidents in Fordingbridge in November 2024 and January 2025. At a sentencing hearing on Thursday at Southampton Crown Court, Judge Nicholas Rowland handed each boy a Youth Rehabilitation Order (YRO), a community sentence available for children that can include unpaid work, curfews, or treatment requirements.

Rowland said he wished to "avoid criminalising these children unnecessarily", though he acknowledged the "seriousness" of the crimes and noted that the boys' decision to film the assaults on their phones and share some of the footage online made the offences "more serious". He also praised the boys for their conduct during the trial.

Victim: ruling was 'like a rock straight in my face'

One of the victims, now 16, told BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that the outcome felt like a "rock straight in my face". She said the sentences "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."

The teenager was raped in an underpass near the River Avon after travelling to meet one of the boys following a "relationship" that had developed on Snapchat. The second girl was attacked in a field. The girl, along with her family, has called the sentences a "slap on the wrist" and is pushing for the boys to be sent to jail.

"Why did I sit and put myself through the pain of going to court, going through a trial, reliving everything because of evidence and watching it all happen again?" she said.

Starmer calls sentences into question

Responding on X to the BBC interview, Starmer wrote: "This is a harrowing and brave testimony. The girls at the heart of this case have shown extraordinary bravery and strength in heinous circumstances. This is an appalling case and it is right that law officers are urgently reviewing the sentences."

Attorney General Lord Richard Hermer now has 28 days to decide whether to refer the sentences to the Court of Appeal. Cabinet Minister Darren Jones told the BBC he expected a decision to be reached sooner. "We all want to look at this urgently," he said, adding that the girls "deserve justice, as do their families, both for them but also for other girls that are put in that position."

Sentences in detail

Two of the convicted boys are now 15; the third is 14. One of the 15-year-olds received a three-year YRO with 180 days of intensive supervision and surveillance, covering charges relating to both victims as well as two indecent images counts. The other 15-year-old was given the same sentence for three charges of rape — one against each victim — and four counts of taking indecent images. The 14-year-old received an 18-month YRO for encouraging one of the other defendants during the January 2025 attack.

Under current law, none of the boys could have been sent to prison even if custodial sentences had been imposed; those under 18 serve such sentences in secure children's centres rather than adult prisons.

Legal and political reaction

Former Attorney General Dominic Grieve, speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today Programme, described the sentences as "certainly unusual" given the gravity of the offences, but said the boys' status as juveniles had been a significant factor in the judge's decision. Grieve, a former Conservative MP, cautioned that any decision to refer the case to the Court of Appeal must be taken "completely independently" and "without pressure from within government".

Barrister Charlotte Proudman, who represents victims of sexual abuse, told the BBC the criminal justice system was "not fit for purpose" and had prioritised "protecting the future of boys" over safeguarding women and girls. "When you have two victims that have been raped saying I wanted my perpetrators to go to prison and if they don't, the whole world can become a prison for the victims," she said.

Labour MP Sarah Owen, chair of the Women and Equalities Committee, said the ruling had sent the "wrong message" to potential perpetrators, effectively signalling that "even if you're found guilty, you're not going to go to prison for rape." She added: "Rape is effectively legalised because the prosecution rate is so low."

Shadow minister for women Mims Davies said it was "absolutely right" to listen to women on the issue, and that the case felt like it was "going backwards". Reform UK MP Robert Jenrick called for judicial accountability, saying: "If a judge has made a very bad error, which I think has happened in this case, they should be accountable for it."

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said on Friday she was "sickened" by the case.

A government spokesperson said ministers "share the public's shock at the details of this horrific case" and confirmed that law officers were reviewing it "with the utmost care and attention".

Source: BBC News