A 16-year-old who was raped by two teenage boys has told the BBC that the judge’s decision not to impose custodial sentences felt like “a rock straight in my face”.
Speaking exclusively to Laura Kuenssberg, the girl — who spoke anonymously with her family — said the ruling left her asking, “What was the point in putting me through that?” She added that the sentence made it seem as if the boys’ actions were not treated as seriously by the law because of their youth.
Warning: this account contains details some readers may find distressing.
The teenager was 15 when she was attacked in an underpass beside the River Avon in Fordingbridge, Hampshire. She had travelled to meet one of the boys in November 2024 after he began what he described as a relationship with her on Snapchat.
Two defendants, now 15, were convicted over that attack and of assaults on a second girl who was raped in a field in January 2025. A third boy, now 14, was convicted for his role in the January incident. The assaults were filmed on phones and some footage was later shared online.
At sentencing in Southampton Crown Court Judge Nicholas Rowland emphasised the seriousness of the offences and said the filming made them more serious. He also said he wanted to avoid “criminalising” the very young defendants and praised their conduct during the trial. The judge handed youth sentences rather than prison terms.
One 15-year-old received a three-year youth rehabilitation order (YRO) with 180 days of intensive supervision and surveillance for the rape of each of the two girls plus two indecent images charges. The other 15-year-old received the same three-year YRO for multiple rape charges involving both victims and four counts of taking indecent images. The 14-year-old was given an 18-month YRO for his role in the January attack by encouraging another defendant.
The victim and her family say those outcomes amount to a “slap on the wrist” and want the sentences reviewed so the boys are jailed. The girl described the toll of coming forward and going through a trial: it took her six months to speak up, and since the attacks she says she has been consumed by sadness, anger, stress and exhaustion while trying to rebuild her life.
Her mother said her world “stopped” when she learned of the attack and appealed directly to the prime minister for help, asking rhetorically whether anyone would be satisfied if it were their own child. Her mother’s partner said he felt “physically sick” when he heard the sentence and criticised what he saw as the victims suffering while the perpetrators had “gotten away scot-free.”
The attorney general will review the sentences and has up to 28 days to decide whether to refer them to the Court of Appeal. Cabinet minister Darren Jones told the programme he expected a faster decision, saying the girls “deserve justice, as do their families, both for them but also for other girls that are put in that position.” The family also met privately with Jones and with Reform UK MP Robert Jenrick, who said justice had not been done.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch described herself as “sickened” and said the punishment amounted to “no punishment at all.” Dame Rachel de Souza, the Children’s Commissioner for England, said she was “deeply concerned” and that her office would contact the families to offer support.
A government spokesperson said officials shared public shock at the case and that the Law Officers were urgently reviewing it “with the utmost care and attention.” The attorney general’s review will determine whether the court’s decisions should be challenged.
The family hope for a prompt review and a different outcome, saying a tougher sentence would recognise the harm done and send a clearer message about accountability for such crimes.
