All posts tagged: Fordingbridge

Victims asked to ‘suck it up’ for benefit of attackers, says former minister

Victims asked to ‘suck it up’ for benefit of attackers, says former minister

Published by Sam Flores

Victims of sexual offences committed by children are being asked to “suck it up” for the sake of their attackers’ rehabilitation, the former safeguarding minister has said. Jess Phillips, who resigned as minister for safeguarding and violence against women earlier this month, said sentencing guidelines did not take into account a “growing trend” of children sexually abusing other children. In an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Ms Phillips also warned that crime may have become “content for an eyeball economy”, with serious offences being filmed “in order to make content”. Her comments come after three teenagers, who cannot be named as they are under 18, were spared jail over the rape of two girls in Fordingbridge, Hampshire. Two 15-year-olds were given non-custodial sentences after raping the two girls, with a judge at Southampton Crown Court saying he wanted to “avoid criminalising these children unnecessarily”. A third boy, now aged 14, was also convicted of his involvement in the second attack and an indecent images offence, and received another non-custodial sentence. The Attorney General …

Teenage rapists judge was told of jail term in similar case

Teenage rapists judge was told of jail term in similar case

Published by Sam Flores

The judge who spared three boy rapists from jail had been advised that the offences mirrored a similar case in which the perpetrator received a custodial sentence. Judge Nicholas Rowland prompted a backlash when he decided not to jail two 15-year-old boys who had raped two girls, one at knifepoint, in Fordingbridge, Hampshire. The attacks had been filmed and footage put online. The two boys were instead given youth rehabilitation orders, as was the third, aged 14, who had “aided and abetted” the rapes. Judge Rowland said he wanted to “avoid criminalising these children unnecessarily”. On Tuesday, Lord Hermer, the Attorney General, judged the sentences to be “unduly lenient” and referred the case to the Court of Appeal to decide whether the boys should have their punishment increased. It has now emerged that Jodie Mittell KC, the prosecutor in the case, had cited a previous trial in which a 15-year-old boy convicted of three rapes, digital penetration and sexual assault had received an eight-year custodial sentence. Earlier case had similarities In her note, Ms Mittell …

‘Those girls deserve justice’: Minister’s emotional plea after boys spared jail for raping teenagers

‘Those girls deserve justice’: Minister’s emotional plea after boys spared jail for raping teenagers

Published by Sam Flores

A government minister held back tears as he said two girls “deserve justice” after two teenage boys were spared jail for raping them. The trial at Southampton Crown Court heard the girls were raped on two separate occasions in Fordingbridge, Hampshire. The first attack was on 26 November 2024 and the second was on 17 January 2025. The boys, both aged 15, were given youth rehabilitation orders (YRO) and made subject to intensive supervision and surveillance (ISS). Chief secretary to the prime minister Darren Jones 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”. In an interview with the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, one of the victims – who was 15 at the time of the incident – asked: “What was the point in putting me through that?” Speaking anonymously alongside her family, the now-16-year-old said the judge’s decision “almost made it seem as if what the boys …