A young girl, who endured a horrific rape by three teenage boys, has expressed that she constantly feels their touch and struggles to sleep at night.
The 15-year-old bravely shared her fears of potentially encountering her attackers again after they avoided jail time, a controversial decision that has ignited public outrage.
Her parents are advocating for justice, urging that the attackers be imprisoned. Her father lamented that the justice system has failed to protect his daughter, leaving her trapped in a continuous nightmare.
The incidents involved two girls, aged 14 and 15, who were raped by two 14-year-old boys in separate attacks in Fordingbridge, Hampshire. A third boy, who was just 13 at the time, was also convicted for his involvement in the second attack and for an indecent images offense.
Despite the severity of these crimes—where one attack involved gang rape at knifepoint, was recorded, and even shared on social media—all three boys received youth rehabilitation orders and were released from court.
The decision by Judge Nicholas Rowland sparked outrage and multiple referrals to the Attorney General Richard Hermer KC under the unduly lenient scheme, after he praised the boys – who are all members of the traveller community – for their conduct during the trial, saying they had ‘done very well’ dealing with restrictions placed upon them.
Public outcry forced Attorney General Hermer to refer the sentences to the Court of Appeal, which will now consider whether the boys’ sentences should be increased – meaning they could be handed prison time.
In an interview with BBC Newsnight, one of the victims, now aged 15, said: ‘Why would you avoid criminalising someone who has done a criminal act?
‘They did it, they need to understand that their actions do have consequences and they can’t just get away with not being criminalised.’
The 15-year-old girl told Victoria Derbyshire on BBC Newsnight that she ‘can always feel their hands on her’ and ‘no longer sleeps at night’ after the attack
One of three teenage travellers convicted of rape following a five-week trial at Southampton Crown Court with the two older boys – both just 14 at time – also found guilty of taking indecent images of a child, relating to the recordings they made of their attacks
All three boys were spared jail despite the horrific nature of the attacks they carried out
The youngest of the three boys in a photograph posted on his TikTok account just two weeks prior to the rape which showed him out late at night hunting rabbits and hares with his lurcher dog, a practice known as ‘lamping’ – a criminal offence
Discussing how the crimes had affected her, the girl said: ‘I feel like no matter what I do, I can always feel their hands on me, no matter how much I’ve scrubbed, how much I’ve tried to get the feeling away it’s always there and it just doesn’t feel like my body anymore.
‘I get really vivid, vivid flashbacks, but they can come at random times, any place, anywhere, sometimes without triggers as well.
‘I don’t sleep at night, because I’m worried something’s going to happen.
‘I struggle to get out of bed because I have no motivation to.’
The victim added that she was ‘losing out on the potential I would have had if none of this had happened’.
The girl’s father said the family felt ‘anger’ over the sentences and that it was ‘heartbreaking’ to see his daughter’s confidence ‘drop to a low’.
He added: ‘We have to put our faith in the justice system that they’re going to do right by us and that’s completely gone because they haven’t protected her.
‘She’s still living this nightmare and will continue living it while they just carry on with their everyday lives.’
The girl’s father said the family felt ‘anger’ over the sentences and called for the boys to be given a custodial sentence of a minimum of two years
The victim said: ‘Why would you avoid criminalising someone who has done a criminal act? They did it, they need to understand that their actions do have consequences and they can’t just get away with not being criminalised’
The girl’s father called for the boys to be given a custodial sentence of a minimum of two years, adding: ‘I feel they have to have something in there, going forwards, that impacts them for life.’
He added: ‘This will cause a lifelong impact on my daughter and the family.
‘This isn’t going away five years, 10 years. This is a life sentence for her.’
The girl’s mother called for the boys to be on the sex offenders register for life, adding: ‘They knew what they were doing, they did it twice.’
In an interview with the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, the other victim, now 16, said of the boys’ sentence: ‘The words hit like a rock straight in my face.’
She added: ‘What is the point in putting me through that just to say it’s fine?’
Attorney General Richard Hermer KC said there was ‘an epidemic of violence against women and girls in this country’ after Sir Keir Starmer announced the ‘distressing’ case would be referred following a public outcry.
The Attorney General added that the Government ‘will not hesitate in taking action to ensure all women and girls feel safe and have confidence in the justice system’.
During a visit to East Sussex on Tuesday, Sir Keir Starmer said: ‘I think it’s a really distressing case. I think it’s distressing for everybody to see, to hear about.’
He praised the ‘courage’ of the victims but said he found the case ‘distressing as a politician’ and ‘as a father’.
Asked specifically about the two older boys who committed both rapes, he added: ‘There are questions about the sentence. The Attorney General has power to refer a case to a Court of Appeal if the Attorney General thinks that the sentence is too lenient.
‘The Attorney General has now exercised that power. So I can announce that case now will go to a Court of Appeal… and that is clearly the right outcome.’
The Attorney General’s Office later confirmed to the Daily Mail that all three teenagers have had their sentences referred following concerns they were ‘unduly lenient’.
On Tuesday morning, French rape survivor Gisèle Pelicot said of the victim to speak out in the wake of the sentencing: ‘I really salute her strength and the decision she made, because I know that it’s an incredibly difficult decision.’
She added: ‘I am deeply shocked that they [the boys] were able to in fact gain their freedom again when in fact the victims are suffering so hard they will never be able to heal.’
During sentencing last week, the court heard that both girls were ‘significantly outnumbered’ and suffered prolonged ordeals.
But Judge Rowland told Southampton Crown Court that he was reluctant to ‘criminalise’ the teenagers, said they had low IQ and even praised their conduct during the trial.
He instead imposed youth rehabilitation orders on all three boys, to run for three years for the older youths and 18 months for the youngest, and told them: ‘None of you need to go to prison today.’
The judge said they were very young, had low intelligence, a limited understanding of consent and were susceptible to peer pressure.
His decision sparked outrage across the country, and the Government confirmed it had received ‘multiple’ requests for them to be reviewed.
When asked what the judge’s decision and remarks meant to her, the 16-year-old victim told Ms Kuenssberg: ‘It meant that why did I sit and put myself through the pain of going to court, going through a trial, reliving everything because of evidence and watching it all happen again? It sort of gave me a sense of, what’s the point?
‘Like, what was the point in putting me through that just to say that it’s fine?
‘It took me six months to say something and essentially the reason I said it was because I was losing it, I was spiralling, I needed help but I didn’t know how to get it, so I spoke up.’
She told how her distress was worsened after the attack when footage taken by the boys was uploaded to social media, prompting a wave of abuse.
The girl added: ‘I just wanted to die. I wanted justice, I wanted to prove a point, but it feels like nothing was proven.’
Responding to the harrowing interview on Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, government minister Darren Jones broke down as he said: ‘As a parent and as a member of the public, you can imagine what my personal view is on the situation.’
The Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister continued: ‘Those girls deserve justice, as do their families, both for them, but also for other girls that are put in that position.
‘And quite frankly, other boys need to know that they can’t behave in that way and get away with it.’
He added: ‘It was very hard to watch because no parent wants their daughter to be in those circumstances and you don’t want a society in which girls are growing up in those circumstances.’
One of the girls’ families released a statement after the sentences were sent for review thanking ministers for their support and said they ‘hope’ the sentence is overturned by the Court of Appeal.
Speaking to Ms Kuenssberg, they said: ‘We as a family would like to start by thanking everyone for the overwhelming support since our story came to light. We thank the public for their thoughts and ongoing support.
‘We would like to thank the crime commissioner for Hampshire, the government ministers for their swift actions to ensure that this lenient sentence was reviewed and has made it to the appeal stage.
‘Our hope is that the initial sentence will be overturned and the correct punitive sentence handed out. We also hope that moving forward it serves as a message to judges, [to] be sure the sentence fits the crime.’
Confirming the referral of all three sentences on Tuesday, the Attorney General said: ‘There has understandably been a huge amount of public interest, and concern, at this horrific case.
‘I directed my officials to work urgently, to allow me to consider this decision swiftly, and to begin to bring closure to the victims and their families.
‘It is clear to me from their powerful personal statements, that these girls have displayed immense bravery in coming forward.
‘There is an epidemic of violence against women and girls in this country, and this Government will not hesitate in taking action to ensure all women and girls feel safe and have confidence in the justice system.’
Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones for Hampshire and Isle of Wight said: ‘I welcome the Attorney General’s decision to refer the sentences of the three teenage boys convicted of 11 counts of rape in the New Forest against two 15-year-old girls to the Court of Appeal.
‘Youth rehabilitation orders for such despicable crimes are clearly unduly lenient.
‘That is evident in the national reaction to this case. It is absolutely right these sentences are reviewed.
‘I want to place on record my thanks to the two victims and their families for speaking out to kick start this vital process.
‘I will do everything I can to continue to support them.’
Former safeguarding minister Jess Phillips said she is ‘thrilled’ by the decision, adding: ‘It is very obvious to anyone in the British public what the outcome of that case should have been.’
