How were teenage boys guilty of rape sentenced?

The sentencing of three teenage boys, who raped two girls in separate attacks, was criticised after the trio were given rehabilitation orders rather than time in detention.

Prosecutors said the assaults in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, in 2024 and 2025, were "brazenly filmed" on phones and showed the boys laughing and encouraging each other.

The boys, two aged 15 and one aged 14, were given youth rehabilitation orders (YRO) and the two older ones were also made subject to intensive supervision and surveillance and walked out of court.

The government is going to review the decision after criticism their sentences were too lenient.

But how were teens sentenced in the first instance?

The boys have 11 rape convictions between them and the two older boys, now 15, were given three-year YROs - the longest standard term for a 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 on Thursday, Judge Nicholas Rowland said he would avoid "criminalising" the boys, telling them: "None of you need to go to prison today."

The judge stressed the "seriousness" of the crimes and said the filming of the assaults made them even "more serious".

However, he emphasised their "very young" ages.

The Sentencing Council for England and Wales provides guidelines on sentencing, which the courts must follow unless it is in the interests of justice not to do so.

It states that even in very serious cases, courts are expected to prioritise rehabilitation for children and use custody only as a last resort - especially where there is evidence of immaturity, vulnerability or potential to change.

The courts will look at the seriousness of the case, considering aggravating factors like offending in a group and humiliating the victim alongside mitigating factors like no previous offending or peer pressure.

They will also consider personal factors like age and maturity, mental health or learning difficulties.

There are also potential reductions in sentences for guilty pleas.

The Alliance for Youth Justice (AYJ) is a national charity which advocates for and with children to drive positive change in youth justice in England and Wales.

Jess Mullen, the AYJ's chief executive, said: "The purpose of our youth justice system, whether that be custody or a community sentence, is prevent reoffending."

She said it is all about "rehabilitation" and not "for the punishment of children".

"Our call is that children should only go to custody for the most serious crimes and when they cannot be safely managed in the community," Mullen said.

According to the government's most recent Youth Justice Statistics for 2024 to 2025, community sentences like YROs accounted for 72% of all sentences.

It also found that reoffending rates were highest for children released from custody, accounting for 61.7% of the reoffending in the year ending March 2024.

Mullen said that neurodiverse children and those with Special Educational Needs (SEN) are "significantly disproportionately represented in custody".

She said: "You're talking about very complex needs [and] a custodial system that cannot meet those needs and that is why a community sentence is so important and why it is more successful."

She continued: "At the moment by sending them to custody we're failing to prepare the for a life in our communities, where they can contribute and play a positive part."

Former Home Office minister Jess Phillips called the non-custodial sentence "unduly lenient".

She said the boys "were essentially raping for content in order to put it on social media and share it to their friends gloating about raping these poor young women".

She added: "It sends a bad message."

Hampshire Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Donna Jones said on Thursday the sentences "offer little comfort to their victims".

Conservative shadow Justice Minister Dr Kieran Mullan MP said: "It cannot be right that teenage boys can commit brutal crimes of rape like this and avoid prison entirely."

The government confirmed it will review the sentencing after receiving multiple requests to appeal the decision.

A government spokesperson said the attorney general's office had received "multiple" requests for the sentences to be reviewed under the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme.

It said it shared the public's shock at the details of this "horrific case" and its thoughts were with the young victims - and that its law officers, the attorney general and the solicitor general, were "urgently reviewing the case with the utmost care and attention".

They will now have up to 28 days to make a decision on the case and could then refer it to the Court of Appeal for a hearing.