Two teenage boys spared jail for raping two girls will have their sentences reviewed by the Court of Appeal after the attorney general suggested the punishment was too lenient, Sir Keir Starmer has announced.
The two 15-year-olds were convicted of raping two girls in separate incidents in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, but were given non-custodial sentences by a judge at Southampton Crown Court, who said he wanted to “avoid criminalising these children unnecessarily”.
The boys were instead given youth rehabilitation orders (YRO) and made subject to intensive supervision and surveillance (ISS) – a decision criticised by the victims, politicians from across the political spectrum and campaigners.
The prime minister, who said he found the case “distressing as a father”, said attorney general Richard Hermer had examined the case and was referring it to the Court of Appeal for review – a decision he said was “clearly the right outcome”.
“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,” he said.
“So I can announce that the case will go to a Court of Appeal… and that is clearly the right outcome.”
Sir Keir said the case was “really distressing” and the courage of the girls who came forward to expose the teenagers’ crimes was “humbling”.
“I think it’s a really distressing case. I think it’s distressing for everybody to see, to hear about. The courage, frankly, of the girls to come forward is humbling, but it is distressing. I find it distressing as a politician. I find it distressing as a father.”
Jess Phillips, a former safeguarding minister, who quit Sir Keir’s government in the fall-out from the local elections, said she was “thrilled” the sentences were being reviewed. She said the UK has a “massive problem” with child sexual abuse being perpetrated by children and more needs to be done by parents and the government to prevent it.
“However, in this case, I think it is unforgivable that a… premeditated rape with more than one person there… on 11 counts of rape. It is very obvious to anyone in the British public what the outcome of that case should have been,” she added.
Her comments come after chief secretary to the PM Darren Jones over the weekend argued the two girls “deserve justice”.
Mr Jones became emotional as he heard testimony from one of the victims on Sunday, in which she said the judge’s decision not to hand down a prison sentence to her attackers was like a “rock straight in my face”.
Asked for his thoughts on the case, Mr Jones told the BBC: “As a minister, what I can’t do is get ahead of the attorney general’s decision, but look, as a parent and as a member of the public, you can imagine what my personal view is on the situation.”
Pushed on what his view was, Mr Jones said: “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.”
Meanwhile, rape survivor Gisèle Pelicot said she was “deeply shocked” that the teenage boys had avoided jail sentences.
The 73-year-old French woman testified against her husband, Dominique Pelicot, who repeatedly drugged her and invited dozens of men to rape her in a case that shocked the world.
Having waived her own right to anonymity, Ms Pelicot “saluted the strength” of one of the girls for speaking out after the attack.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Ms 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”.
She added she hoped her own story “was useful for her to make that decision” to come forward.
On Tuesday, Sarah Owen MP, chair of the women and equalities committee, told The Independent that the “harrowing case not only needs to be reviewed as soon as possible, but also the process that has allowed boys found guilty of rape, videoing and sharing that rape being allowed off with a non-custodial sentence”.
“To victims of rape and sexual assault, this is not what justice looks like. With so few reports of rape even making it to court, this leniency also sends a very dangerous message to perpetrators of sexual violence”, she added.
She said it was “heartbreaking” that the girls have suffered only to have a judge “who appeared more concerned with the future of the rapists than they did the victims”.
