Key facts
- The Court of Appeal has overturned a judge's decision not to give custodial sentences to two teenage boys convicted of rape.
- The Attorney General referred the case to the Court of Appeal, arguing the original sentences were unduly lenient.
- The convictions involved two girls in separate incidents in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, in November 2024 and January 2025.
- Two 15-year-old boys, X and Y, were ordered to be detained for four years each.
- The sentence for the 14-year-old boy, Z, who encouraged the rape of the second victim, was not increased.
The Court of Appeal has ruled that a judge's decision to spare two teenage boys custodial sentences for rape was incorrect, following a referral by the Attorney General due to public outcry. The original sentencing judge had opted for youth rehabilitation orders, citing the boys' backgrounds and a desire to avoid criminalizing them unnecessarily. However, the Court of Appeal found that the seriousness and number of offences warranted detention. Two of the boys, aged 15, will now serve four-year detention sentences, while the sentence for the third, aged 14, remains unchanged. The convictions stem from two separate incidents in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, involving two victims.