'Justice has finally been done': Victims' families 'grateful and relieved' after teen rapists jailed following lenient sentence review
The families of two girls who were raped by 15-year-old boys initally spared jail said they are “deeply grateful” and “relieved” after the Court of Appeal sentenced two of their attackers to four years’ detention.
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Three boys, two aged 15 and one aged 14, were given youth rehabilitation orders after the girls, 14 and 15, were raped in two separate incidents in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, in November 2024 and January 2025.
One of two girls raped by the said she doesn’t think she will “ever be the same” after the attack.
In a statement released following the sentencing, one of the victims, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, insisted that “public outrage was driven by the boys’ horrific crimes”, adding: “Justice has finally been done.”
The boys' sentences prompted public outcry after the trio were spared jail. It was referred to the Court of Appeal as “unduly lenient” by Attorney General Lord Hermer days later.
On Wednesday, the appeals court heard the “only appropriate sentence” for the boys is detention. On Thursday, the Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr, Lord Justice Edis and Ms Justice Norton sentenced X and Y to four years’ detention, while leaving Z’s sentence unchanged.
Speaking following the ruling, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police and Crime Commissioner issued statements from the families of ‘Jasmine’ and ‘Sarah’, whose names have been changed.
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The first said: “We are deeply grateful and relieved by the Court of Appeal Judges’ decision to increase the sentence.
“We believe this was the correct decision, and we are thankful that our voices were heard throughout this process. While nothing can undo our family’s anguish, this outcome brings a greater sense of justice and accountability.”
The second family said: “We welcome the Court of Appeal’s decision to increase the defendants’ sentences after the original sentences were referred as unduly lenient. We are relieved that the Court recognised the seriousness of these offences and imposed immediate custodial sentences.
"The original sentences were devastating for the family and left us feeling that the harm caused to our daughter had not been fully recognised. While no sentence can undo the trauma she has endured, today’s decision gives us a greater sense that justice has been served and that those responsible have been held properly accountable
"We are immensely proud of our daughter’s courage and strength throughout this long and difficult process. We hope this outcome reassures other victims and survivors that their voices matter and that the justice system can correct decisions that do not adequately reflect the seriousness of these crimes.”
The Attorney General has welcomed the Court of Appeal’s decision to sentence two 15-year-old rapists to four years’ detention after finding their previous sentence unduly lenient.
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.”
At a hearing of the Attorney General’s bid at the Court of Appeal yesterday, Tom Little KC said: “In summary it is submitted that the extent and nature of the offending was so serious such that the only appropriate sentence for X, Y and Z was detention.”
Reading a summary of their judgment to X and Y, who appeared by video link from Southampton Crown Court, 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.”
Addressing Z, who also attended Southampton Crown Court, Baroness Carr said: “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.”
At the sentencing hearing, Judge Rowland said that although X and Y’s offences “crossed the custody threshold” and posed a “high risk of serious harm” to young females, he had to consider their backgrounds.
He said X had been diagnosed with ADHD and “long-standing anxiety” while Y had an IQ in the bottom 1%, had ADHD with “extreme neurodevelopmental impairment” and presented “more like an eight-year-old”.
X was previously given a three-year 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 sentence for three charges of rape against each of the two victims and four counts of taking indecent images by filming the incidents.
Z was given an 18-month YRO for two charges of rape related to the latter victim after encouraging the second defendant, and for an offence of indecent images.
But Baroness Carr said that Judge Rowland “undervalued the seriousness of their offending and the serious harm caused by it to the complainants”.
She continued: “The involvement in the two incidents taken together was such that an immediate and substantial period of detention was required.”The three judges also extended X and Y’s restraining orders, preventing them from contacting either victim, from 10 years to an indefinite order.
Baroness Carr also said that there had been “misinformed and inappropriate commentary” on the case, having previously criticised the Crown Prosecution Service over inaccuracies in a press release issued when the boys were first sentenced in May, which were not corrected for several days.
One of the two girls raped by the teenage boys said that the rape trial “broke something inside me”.
Jazmine (whose name has been changed) said she feels like she has been “carrying what happened every day”, telling the court: “I feel like I am carrying what happened every day. I wake up with it, I go to school with it, I try to sit exams with it, and I go to sleep with it. It is always there. I cannot just switch it off. I cannot just move on.
“The trial was horrific. It was not just difficult; it was traumatising. It made me relive what happened again and again. The trial lasted more than five-and-a-half weeks, and I had to go through giving evidence.
“When I gave evidence, I was questioned in detail about what I apparently did. I was asked about the details of what happened.”