A 15-year-old girl who was threatened with a knife and raped by three boys in Hampshire has said she feels as though she is being “punished for something that wasn’t my fault” after her attackers were allowed to walk free from court. Olivia, whose name has been changed for legal reasons, was 14 when she was separated from her friends in January 2025 and forced to a secluded field near Fordingbridge recreation ground. There, her clothes were cut and she was raped while the attack was filmed. Speaking after the sentencing, she told The Times: “It just felt like I was being punished for something that wasn’t my fault because it just means I can’t go out.” Instead of focusing on her GCSE exams, she now struggles with flashbacks and is afraid to leave her home in case she encounters the defendants. “I just wanted to be able to go out without the fear of seeing them or being around them,” she said. “Why did I go through all of that for nothing to come of it?”
All three boys avoided custodial sentences when they were sentenced at Southampton Crown Court on 21 May 2026. Two of the defendants, both aged 15, received a three-year youth rehabilitation order with 180 days of intensive supervision and surveillance. The youngest defendant, now aged 14, was given an 18-month youth rehabilitation order for two charges of rape, after encouraging the second defendant in the rape of Olivia and taking indecent images. Each boy was also handed a three-month curfew and a 10-year restraining order prohibiting contact with their victims. The sentences prompted a national outcry and multiple complaints to the Attorney General. On 26 May, Lord Hermer referred the sentences to the Court of Appeal under the unduly lenient sentence scheme. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described the case as “distressing” and said the sentences would be reviewed, while Hampshire Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones called them “far too lenient” and said they offered “little comfort to their victims.”
Judge’s reasoning: ‘Avoid criminalising these children unnecessarily’
Judge Nicholas Rowland, who presided over the sentencing, gave a detailed explanation for the non-custodial outcomes. He told the court he wanted to “avoid criminalising these children unnecessarily” and to support their “reintegration into society”. He noted that “peer pressure played a large part in what went on” and emphasised that he had to consider the defendants were “not small adults”. The judge also took into account their lack of prior offences as a mitigating factor, though it emerged during the trial that the two older defendants had raped another 15-year-old girl two months before the attack on Olivia, in an underpass by the River Avon on 26 November 2024. That earlier victim had met one of the defendants on Snapchat and, after engaging in sexual acts, was raped by both boys. That attack was also filmed and later shared online, leading to the victim receiving abusive messages and feeling suicidal. The judge’s remarks also included an assessment of the boys’ cognitive and mental health profiles. One of the 15-year-old defendants was noted in court to have an IQ in the “bottom one per cent of his contemporaries” and was diagnosed with ADHD and “long-standing anxiety”. Another defendant was described as having “mild cognitive impairment”, as was the youngest defendant, aged 14. Judge Rowland stressed the importance of “reintegration” over punishment, but the victims’ families have accused him of prioritising the welfare of the attackers over the suffering of their daughters.
Family reaction: ‘As good as a life sentence for my daughter’
Olivia’s father said it had been “traumatic” to watch his daughter change from a “bubbly, very outgoing girl” to someone afraid to leave her own home out of fear she may bump into the defendants. He described the judge’s comments during sentencing as “horrific” and said he had to leave the courtroom at points. “We as parents do what we can to protect our children,” he said. “When we get to a stage like this where you can’t really protect them, you have to put your faith within the justice system to do the right thing. And they’ve just completely let us down.” He added: “I think for me, with what’s happened, it is as good as a life sentence for my daughter. It will get easier with time but it will never go away. If they are given a custodial sentence, obviously it’s not going to be a life sentence. But I want to see the justice system do something that will impact them for life because this impacts her for life.” Olivia’s mother said the judge had handled the sentencing “completely wrong”. The family said that despite suggestions during the trial that Olivia was a rebellious child, she had been raised in a protective and “quite strict” household and had enjoyed going out with her friends before the attack. The first victim of the two older defendants also spoke of the impact, saying she felt the sentence was a “rock straight in my face” and that she “wanted to die” after receiving abusive messages online. She told the court she felt she was “grieving the person I used to be”. Police have confirmed that specialist officers continue to support both victims.
