Starmer refers Fordingbridge teen rape sentences to Court of Appeal after attackers spared custody

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the sentences handed to three teenage boys who were spared custody for raping two girls would be referred to the Court of Appeal, calling the case "distressing" and saying "there are questions about the sentence." The attorney general, Lord Hermer, confirmed the referral after what he said was an urgent review.

Two girls, then aged 15 and 14, were raped in separate incidents in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, in November 2024 and January 2025. The first was raped three times in an underpass by the River Avon, pressured into sex while being filmed and fearing she would be thrown into the river; the second was attacked at Fordingbridge Recreation Ground and in a nearby field, where a defendant pushed her down and used a knife to cut her clothing. The boys filmed the assaults on their phones and shared some of the footage online. Two of the attackers were then 14 and a third was 13; they denied the charges but were found guilty in March after a trial at Southampton Crown Court, leaving with 10 rape convictions between them.

Judge Nicholas Rowland gave the boys youth rehabilitation orders rather than custody, saying he "should avoid criminalising these children unnecessarily" and telling them, "None of you need to go to prison today," while stressing that the filming made the crimes more serious. One victim told the BBC the decision felt like "a rock straight in my face" and "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."

Starmer said he found the case distressing "as a politician" and "as a father" and praised the victims' courage. Lord Hermer said the girls had shown "immense bravery in coming forward," adding: "There is an epidemic of violence against women and girls in this country, and this government will not hesitate in taking action." French rape survivor Gisele Pelicot, speaking at the Hay Festival, said she saluted the "strength and courage" of the girl who spoke out, saying she was "deeply shocked that these individuals were in fact able to gain their freedom again when, in fact, the victims are suffering so hard they will never be able to heal."

The intervention escalated a review the government had opened earlier in the week into the sentences. A referral allows the attorney general to ask three senior judges to rule, in a public hearing, on whether a sentence was unduly lenient.