Victim speaks out after Hampshire boys avoid custody for rape cases

Southampton Crown Court spared three teenage boys custody after they were convicted over two separate attacks in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, on 26 November 2024 and 17 January 2025. Jazmine said she does not think she "will ever be the same" and wants "freedom from fear". Another girl said the trauma left her feeling as if "something in me has broken" and that the sentence felt "like a rock straight in her face".

Three boys were involved, and the offences produced 10 rape convictions between them. The incidents were filmed on mobile phones, with some footage shared online, before the boys received youth rehabilitation orders instead of custody.

The case now turns on the unduly lenient sentence scheme. A sentence can be referred only if it is not just lenient but appears unduly lenient, meaning it falls outside the range of sentences a judge, taking account of all relevant factors, could reasonably consider appropriate. The Law Officers have 28 days from sentencing to decide whether to ask the Court of Appeal to look again, and the court can leave the sentence in place or increase it.

Lord Hermer confirmed the referral and said there is "an epidemic of violence against women and girls in this country". Hampshire Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones called the outcome alarming, and Alicia Kearns said it raised "serious questions" about public confidence in the justice system. The Court of Appeal will now decide whether the youth rehabilitation orders were unduly lenient and whether the boys should receive tougher sentences.