Teen rapists spared jail given four years’ detention after ‘unduly lenient’ original sentences

A pair of teenage rapists who were spared jail have been given four years' detention after they were handed "unduly lenient" original sentences.

Two 15-year-old boys, referred to in court as X and Y, were spared custody for the rape of two girls in Fordingbridge in Hampshire and were sentenced to four years’ detention.

The Court of Appeal ruled their original sentences were "unduly lenient" after dodging jail time altogether in the original sentencing at Southampton Crown Court in May.

Today, Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr told X and Y: "What you both did was so bad that we decided we had no other choice but to make these sentences."

She said the original sentencing judge, Nicholas Rowland, had "wrongly assessed the level of harm" on the two victims and that non-custodial sentences "cannot be justified".

While the sentences for two of the rapists were increased, the third convicted teenager, called Z, will keep the lighter sentence as the 14-year-old was "very young".

Reading a summary of the ruling to X and Y, Baroness Carr said: "We have decided that we do need to change your sentences and both of you do need to go into detention."

She continued: "What you did was so bad that we have no other choice."

Baroness Carr told Z: "We have decided that because you were very young and find some things really very difficult to understand, and because you were only involved on one occasion, we do not need to change your sentence."

"We concluded that the judge [Nicholas Rowland] had erred in his assessment of his sentences," he added.

Britain's top judge also ruled that the judge failed to assess the "humiliation and degradation" forced on the victims, in addition to the ages and vulnerabilities of the offenders.

Together, the three boys were charged with 10 counts of rape and seven indecent image offences related to the girls.

Speaking after the ruling, the families of two of the girls who were raped said they are "deeply grateful" and "relieved".

The attacks were carried out in Fordingbridge in November 2024 and January 2025.

Back in May, Judge Rowland said he should "avoid criminalising these children unnecessarily" and that detention was a "last resort".

However, following public outrage over the "leniency" of the sentences, the case was referred to Britain's Attorney General, Lord Hermer.

Baroness Carr, during the ruling today, hit out at what she said was "misinformed and inappropriate commentary by MPs, the media and elsewhere".

At the original hearing, Judge Rowland said, despite X and Y’s offences "crossing the custody threshold" and that they posed a "high risk of serious harm" to young women, he would consider their backgrounds.

X was diagnosed with ADHD and "long-standing anxiety". Y had an IQ in the bottom one per cent, presented "more like an eight-year-old, and had ADHD.

Previously, X was handed a three-year-long youth rehabilitation order (YRO) with 180 days of intensive supervision and surveillance for raping and taking indecent images of both victims.

Y received the same sentencing for three charges of rape against each of the two victims and four counts of taking indecent images by videoing the attacks.

Z was handed an 18-month YRO for encouraging the second rapist, alongside an offence of indecent images.

In a statement issued by law firm Proudmans, one of the victims, referred to as Jazmine, which is not her real name, and her family said: "Jazmine, like all victims in the criminal justice system, are not parties, they do not have legal standing, they do not have access to legal aid.

"Their voice is missing. The criminal justice system needs completely overhauling and victims need their own advocate in court.

"To survivors, have faith in yourself, seek support and, where possible, do not remain silent.“Remember: we are always stronger than silence."

In her own words, Jazmine said: "I thought the sentencing hearing might help me. Instead, I feel like everything has gone backwards. I feel more trapped than I did before. I feel like I am the one who has been sentenced. I feel like I am the one living in a prison, even though I did nothing wrong."

The Attorney General has welcomed the Court of Appeal’s decision today.

Lord Hermer said: “Rape is a horrifying crime, and one that our justice system should and will punish severely.

"I welcome the Court of Appeal’s decision to increase the sentences of the two boys, resulting in their detention.

"No one should have to endure what the victims went through, and I commend their bravery in coming forward and campaigning for justice. This government will continue to do everything it can to tackle violence against women and girls."