Starmer confirms teen rape case sent to Court of Appeal after public outcry
The Attorney General has sent a rape case, which saw two teenage boys spared jail, to the Court of Appeal following a political backlash over the weekend against the judge’s ruling.
Two teenage boys raped two girls in separate attacks in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, in 2024 and 2025. The third boy, who aided and abetted the assaults on the second girl, was given a non-custodial sentence.
The boys walked out of court last week after Southampton Crown Court Judge Nicholas Rowland said: “I should avoid criminalising these children unnecessarily and understand the effects of their behaviour and support their reintegration into society.”
The judge did stress the “seriousness” of the boys’ crimes and said their filming of the attacks made them even “more serious”, but then emphasised their “very young” ages and said: “None of you need to go to prison today.”
The two boys, now 15, were given three-year Youth Rehabilitation Orders (YRO) with 180 days of intensive surveillance and supervision, while the third boy, now 14, was given an 18-month YRO.
Political backlash against the ruling
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch called the decision a “disgrace”, while Reform’s Robert Jenrick said the judge had made a “very bad error”.
Following a BBC interview with one of the mothers of the girls, Sir Keir Starmer said: “This is an appalling case, and it is right that law officers are urgently reviewing the sentences.”
In a post on X, the Prime Minister said, “The girls at the heart of this case have shown extraordinary bravery and strength in heinous circumstances.”
The case was referred to the Attorney General, Lord Hermer, to review whether it was unduly lenient. Starmer confirmed on Tuesday that Lord Hermer has referred the case to the Court of Appeal.
“The attorney general has now exercised that power. So I can announce that that case will now go to the Court of Appeal, and the Court of Appeal will now review the sentence in that case, and that is clearly the right outcome,” he explained.