Fordingbridge rape case: Judge 'wrong' to spare boys jail

During the hearing the Lady Chief Justice Sue Carr criticised the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for putting out an inaccurate press release suggesting a knife was involved in the rapes.

When Judge Nicholas Rowland passed the sentences at Southampton Crown Court in May, there was an outcry from the girls and their families and from politicians. The Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described it as “an appalling case.”

One of the girls described the sentences as a “slap on the wrist”.

She told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that it “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”.

C2 told BBC Newsnight that she was suffering from vivid flashbacks.

“I just want to be able to go on a walk without being scared that I’m going to see them and they’re gonna try to do something again,” she said.

Judge Rowland gave X and Y three-year Youth Rehabilitation Orders (YRO) with 180 days of intensive surveillance and supervision.

The third boy, now 14, was given an 18-month YRO.

All three boys were also made subject to a three-month curfew and given a restraining order for 10 years not to contact their victims.

Explaining his sentencing decision to Southampton Crown Court, Judge Nicholas Rowland said he wanted to avoid “criminalising” the boys unnecessarily.

He said the guidelines required him to use custody as “a last resort”.

He also took into account that X and Y had served the equivalent of 18-month and 17-month sentences, as they had lived under curfews while awaiting trial.

The hearing in front of the Lady Chief Justice, Lord Justice Edis and Ms Justice Norton is listed for 2 days.

The boys have been told to attend Southampton Crown Court at 14:00 on Thursday to watch the judges’ decision by videolink.

The hearing continues.