Judge 'wrong' to spare rapists jail, court told

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. Judge 'wrong' to spare rapists jail, court toldImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, The Court of Appeal is considering whether the sentences given to three boys convicted of rape were unduly lenientByDaniel SandfordUK correspondent Published1 July 2026, 13:39 BSTUpdated 12 minutes agoA judge was "wrong" to pass community sentences on three boys convicted of raping two teenage girls in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, the Court of Appeal has heard. The sentences were referred to the Court of Appeal as "unduly lenient" by Attorney General Lord Hermer. Tom Little KC, for the Attorney General, told the court: "It is submitted that the extent and nature of the offending was so serious such that the only appropriate sentence for was detention".

But lawyers for the boys argued the judge had approached sentencing correctly, giving the best chance of rehabilitation while protecting against future offending. Figure caption, One of the girls was raped in an underpass near the River Avon in FordingbridgeWarning: This story contains details some may find distressingAll the children in the case have been granted anonymity because of their young age - with the offenders referred to as X, Y and Z. One of the girls - C1 - was 15 when she was raped by X and Y in November 2024 at an underpass near a river in Fordingbridge after first engaging in some consenting sexual activity with X.

The Details

Parts of the rape were filmed. The second girl - C2, who was 14 - was raped by X and Y in January 2025 in a recreation ground in Fordingbridge. Again there had been some consenting sexual activity before the rape began, and again parts of the rape were filmed, this time by boy Z.

At the time of the rapes X and Y were 14 and Z was 13. They were convicted of 10 rape offences between them. Tom Little KC said the judge in the case was "wrong to conclude that a community sentence could be justified for any of them".

"Had the judge properly assessed the seriousness of the offences, he could only reasonably have concluded that lengthy sentences of detention were required for both X and Y and that a sentence of detention was required for Z," he said. Image source, Crown Prosecution ServiceImage caption, The second girl was 14 when she was raped in a field at Fordingbridge Recreation GroundDuring the hearing the Lady Chief Justice Sue Carr criticised the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for putting out an inaccurate press release suggesting a knife was involved in the rapes. When Judge Nicholas Rowland passed the sentences at Southampton Crown Court in May, there was an outcry from the girls and their families and from politicians.

The Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described it as "an appalling case. "One of the girls described the sentences as a "slap on the wrist". She told the 's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that it "almost made it seem as if what the boys did was not OK - but it was OK in the eyes of the law because they were still children".

The story has become one of the most prominent items on the global agenda.