Teenagers avoid custody for filmed rape of two girls in Hampshire

Three teenage boys who filmed the rape of two girls in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, avoided custody after a judge said the court had to think carefully about “criminalising these children unnecessarily” and the pull of peer pressure.

At Southampton Crown Court, two 15-year-olds and one 14-year-old were sentenced for separate attacks on November 26, 2024, and January 17, 2025. The court heard the assaults were brazenly filmed on mobile phones, with the boys laughing and encouraging each other as the girls were raped.

The two older boys received three-year youth rehabilitation orders, along with 180 days of intensive supervision and surveillance. They were also given a three-month curfew and a 10-year restraining order. The 14-year-old was given an 18-month youth rehabilitation order. The case turned on the framework that governs children in the youth justice system, where rehabilitation and restrictions short of custody can be imposed even in cases involving the most serious offences.

The court heard that one of the 15-year-olds had been diagnosed with ADHD and long-standing anxiety, and that he had an IQ in the bottom 1% of his contemporaries. All three boys were said to have cognitive or developmental difficulties, including ADHD and anxiety. Judge Nicholas Rowland said he should avoid criminalising them unnecessarily, placing peer pressure at the centre of his sentencing decision.

The victims’ statements laid bare the damage behind the legal arguments. One girl said she felt she would never get back the innocence she lost. The other said she was grieving the person she used to be. For campaigners and families watching the case, the gap between that harm and a non-custodial outcome has become the heart of the public backlash.

Jess Phillips described the sentences as “unduly lenient” and said she would help the victims’ families seek a review. Donna Jones, the Hampshire and Isle of Wight police and crime commissioner, said the punishment was “far too lenient” and would offer little comfort as the girls tried to rebuild their lives, adding that she would support an appeal if the families wanted one.

England and Wales do have a route for that challenge. Under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme, members of the public can ask the Attorney General’s Office to review a Crown Court sentence within 28 days. Government data updated on May 7, 2026, shows the scheme is being used in rape cases, with 13 rape sentences increased in the April-to-June 2025 quarter after Solicitor General intervention.