Prime minister refers sentences of boys spared custody over Hampshire rape to Court of Appeal

LONDON, May 26 (Reuters) – The prime minister said Monday that the sentences of teenage boys who avoided custody after being convicted of raping two girls in Hampshire will be referred to the Court of Appeal, citing questions about their leniency. Sir Keir Starmer confirmed the attorney general had exercised the power to refer the case, describing it as "clearly the right outcome."

Sentencing and Convictions

Two girls, aged 15 and 14 at the time, were raped in separate incidents in Fordingbridge in November 2024 and January 2025 by two 14-year-old boys. A third boy, then 13, was also convicted for his involvement in the second attack. The teenagers, who cannot be named due to their age, denied the charges but were found guilty in March after a trial at Southampton Crown Court. They received youth rehabilitation orders and walked out of court with 10 rape convictions between them.

During sentencing on Thursday, Judge Nicholas Rowland said he would avoid "criminalising" the "very young" boys.

Prime Minister's Response

Speaking during a visit to East Sussex on Monday, Starmer called the case "really distressing" and said it was "distressing for everybody to see, to hear about." He praised the "courage" of the victims but added he found the case "distressing as a politician" and "as a father." The attorney general, he said, "has power to refer a case to the Court of Appeal if the attorney general thinks that the sentence is too lenient."

Context

French rape survivor Gisèle Pelicot told the BBC she was "deeply shocked" by the sentences and "saluted the strength" and courage of one of the young girls for speaking out. Speaking after headlining this year's Hay Festival in Wales, Pelicot said 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." Similar cases involving lenient sentences for juvenile sex offenders in the United Kingdom have previously been referred to higher courts under the attorney general's unduly lenient sentence scheme.