Fordingbridge Rape Victim Decries Judge's Leniency for Teenage Assailants as 'Rock in My Face'
A 16-year-old girl, raped by two teenage boys in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, has publicly denounced Judge Nicholas Rowland's decision to issue youth rehabilitation orders instead of custodial sentences, stating it felt like a "rock straight in my face." The victim, who was 15 at the time of the November 2024 attack, questioned the efficacy of the judicial process, asking, "What was the point in putting me through that?"
Attorney General Reviews Sentences
The Attorney General is now conducting an urgent review of the sentences handed down at Southampton Crown Court. Judge Rowland had previously stated his desire to avoid "criminalising" the "very young" boys. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called the victim's account "harrowing and brave testimony," affirming that "law officers are urgently reviewing the sentences."
The two defendants, both now 15, were convicted of raping the first victim in an underpass near the River Avon. They were also found guilty of attacking a second victim, raped in a field in January 2025, an assault in which a third boy, now 14, was also involved. The perpetrators filmed the rapes and subsequently shared some of the footage online.
Victim's Family Demands Justice
The victim and her family are advocating for the sentences to be overturned and for the boys to be jailed, characterising the current outcome as a "slap on the wrist." Her mother issued a direct plea to the Prime Minister, asking, "If it was your daughter... would you be happy?" The family's partner, present during sentencing, described feeling "physically sick" at the judge's decision, adding, "It seems to me like the victims are the ones suffering and the perpetrators are the ones that have seemingly got away scot-free."
One 15-year-old received a three-year youth rehabilitation order with 180 days of intensive supervision for the rape of both girls and two indecent image charges. The other 15-year-old received an identical sentence for three charges of rape against each victim and four counts of taking indecent images. The 14-year-old boy received an 18-month youth rehabilitation order for encouraging one of the other defendants in the January 2025 attack.
Prominent figures, including Reform UK MP Robert Jenrick and Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, have condemned the sentences, with Badenoch stating the "punishment was no punishment at all." Dame Rachel de Souza, the Children's Commissioner for England, expressed "deep concern," affirming her office would offer support to the families involved.
