Girl raped by boys spared jail tells BBC judge's decision was like 'rock in my face'

According to a woman who was assaulted by two teenage boys, a judge's decision to save them jail sentences was like a "rock straight in my face.

"What was the point in putting me through this?

The teen, who spOKe anonymously with her family, said the judge's ruling

almost made it appear that what the boys did not do was not OK,

but that was OKay in the eyes of the law because they were still teenagers.

Judge Nicholas Rowland's sentencing of very young boys will be considered by the attorney general, who had said on Thursday that he would not want to criminally punish" them.

The adolescent was 15 years old when she was assaulted in an underpass by the River Avon in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, England.

After he had begun a relationship with her on social media website Snapchat, she had flown to meet one of the boys for the first time in November 2024.

Both of the two defendants, who are now 15, were found guilty of attacking a second individual who was raped in a field in January 2025. Another boy, now 14 years old, was also found guilty of his involvement in the second attack.

The boys caught the rapes on their phones and then posted a portion of the video on social media.

The judge emphasised the seriousness of the allegations during a sentencing hearing at Southampton Crown Court, adding that the filming of the assaults made them even "more serious". He praised the boys for how they had behaved during the trial after making the remark about their age.

The girl and her family's request that the sentences be changed, and the boys were sent to prison for a "slap on the wrist.

Why did I sit and watch it all happen again? says the author. " the girl said.

"It gave me a sense of what's the point. What was the point in putting me through that just to say that it's fine?

The teen said it took six months to speak out against the assault.

'I said it was because I was losing it,' I said. I was spiralling.

I needed assistance, but I didn't know how to get it,

she said.

All I can think about since the attack is being sad, stressed, hungry, hungry,

school, needing a job, trying to keep my family together when it's falling apart," she said.

The attorney general will have 28 days to determine whether the sentences should be sent to the Court of Appeal.

We all want to look at this urgently, Cabinet minister Darren Jones told the programme that he expects the attorney general to make a decision faster than that.

The girls, as well as other girls put in the situation, need compassion, according to the author; "the girls are entitled to justice, as do their families.

When she learned of the attack, the girl's mother said her world "stopped.

Everything stopped moving, she said.

"Please help," she pleaded directly to the prime minister, saying, "Please assist." Would you be happy if it was your daughter, your uncle, your nephew, or a family friend?

"Because we're not happy, and I don't think any other member of the public will be content. So you're in a position to help, so please help.

When the judge heard the judge's decision, her mother's companion, who was in court with her, said he was "physically sick.

It seems to me that the victims are the ones suffering, and the perpetrators are the one who have reportedly gone scot-free,

he said.

One of the 15-year-olds was given a three-year youth rehabilitation order (YRO) with 180 days of intense supervision and surveillance for each of the two girls and two indecent photos charges.

The other 15-year-old was given the same sentence for three counts of rape against each of the victims, as well as four counts of taking indecent photographs.

In the January 2025 assault, the 14-year-old boy was given an 18-month YRO for allegations of rape in the January-2025 assault by encouraging one of the other defendants.

Justice had not been done, according to reform UK MP Robert Jenrick.

If a judge made a serious mistake, which I think has occurred in this case, they should be accountable for it,

he said on the programme.

Following this morning's programme, the family spoke privately with Jones and separately with Jenrick.

The offence could not be graver, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said on Friday, but there was no punishment at all.

Dame Rachel de Souza, England's Children's Commissioner, expressed concern over her deep anxiety and that her office would reach out to the families to provide assistance.