UK Attorney General 'Had No Doubt' in Referring Teen Rapists' Non-Custodial Sentences to Appeal
Attorney General Lord Hermer has said he was “in no doubt” about referring to the Court of Appeal the case of three teenage boys who raped two girls but were given community sentences instead of custody, a decision that sparked widespread anger and renewed debate over how the justice system handles child-on-child sexual offences.
Speaking to the BBC, the government’s top legal adviser said that as soon as he became aware of the sentences handed down by Judge Nicholas Rowland at Southampton Crown Court, he moved to review them under the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme. “I wanted the detail as quickly as possible so I could make a decision as quickly as possible – so that uncertainty was not hanging over the victims,” Lord Hermer told BBC Radio 4’s Political Thinking with Nick Robinson podcast.
The case involves two girls, then aged 15 and 14, who were raped in separate incidents in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, in November 2024 and January 2025. Two 14-year-old boys were convicted for the assaults; a third boy, then aged 13, was also found guilty of involvement in the second attack. All three were given youth rehabilitation orders (YROs) after the judge said he wanted to avoid “criminalising” the “very young” offenders and instead support “their reintegration into society.” He also praised the boys for their conduct during the trial.
The leniency of the sentences ignited fury. One of the victims told the BBC that hearing the judge’s ruling felt like “a rock in my face.” Her father described the attack as having a “lifelong impact” on his daughter. Another victim’s family said she now fears leaving the house alone. Political figures across the spectrum condemned the outcome. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch posted on X that the boys received “no punishment at all,” while Reform UK treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick told the BBC: “It can never be right that a young person kills someone or rapes someone and they do not go to jail.” Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer expressed being “appalled” by the case.
Lord Hermer, who read the victims’ statements as part of his review, praised “the bravery of those girls” for enduring a trial and “to carry on campaigning to secure justice” after the sentences were handed down. Under the ULS scheme, the attorney general – alongside expert lawyers – can refer a sentence to the Court of Appeal if it is judged to be “unduly lenient.” That court, composed of three senior judges, will then consider whether the original sentence was appropriate given sentencing guidelines and the specific circumstances.
The case has also highlighted tensions within sentencing policy. The Sentencing Council for England and Wales states that even for serious offences, courts should prioritise rehabilitation for children and treat custody as a last resort. But critics argue that those guidelines fail to account for a “growing trend” of children sexually abusing other children. Jess Phillips, the former minister for safeguarding and violence against women, told the BBC’s Today programme that the sentencing framework “focuses too heavily on the perpetrator and their vulnerabilities and doesn’t think about the public safety element.” She added that the girls in the Fordingbridge case have essentially been told to “suck it up for the sake of the perception of what is best for the perpetrators.”
Phillips also pointed to a contributing factor: “I cannot ignore the growth in online pornography, access to the most heinous things online for this generation that just simply didn’t exist in prior generations.” The wider debate comes as the government seeks to reform parts of the criminal justice system, with Lord Hermer stressing that courts regularly impose long prison terms for sexual offences. “We are determined to make sure that the criminal justice system works for victims,” he said.
The Court of Appeal is expected to hear the referral in the coming weeks, potentially setting a precedent for how young sex offenders are judged in future. Meanwhile, the victims and their families continue to grapple with the emotional fallout while watching the legal process unfold.