Judge 'wrong' to spare rapists jail, court told

Judge 'wrong' to spare rapists jail, court toldImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, The Court of Appeal is considering whether the sentences given to three boys convicted of rape were unduly lenientByDaniel SandfordUK correspondent Published1 July 2026, 13:39 BSTUpdated 21 minutes agoA judge was "wrong" to pass community sentences on three boys convicted of raping two teenage girls in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, the Court of Appeal heardThe sentences were referred to the Court of Appeal as "unduly lenient" by Attorney General Lord Hermer.Tom Little KC, for the Attorney General, told the court: "it is submitted that the extent and nature of the offending was so serious such that the only appropriate sentence for [the boys] was detention".But lawyers for the boys argued the judge had approached sentencing correctly, giving the best chance of rehabilitation while protecting against future offending.To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.This video can not be playedFigure caption, One of the girls was raped in an underpass near the River Avon in FordingbridgeWarning: This story contains details some may find distressingAll the children in the case have been granted anonymity because of their young age - with the offenders referred to as X, Y and Z.One of the girls - C1 - was 15 when she was raped by X and Y in November 2024 at an underpass near a river in Fordingbridge after first engaging in some consenting sexual activity with X. Parts of the rape were filmed.The second girl - C2, who was 14 - was raped by X and Y in January 2025 in a recreation ground in Fordingbridge. Again there had been some consenting sexual activity before the rape began, and again parts of the rape were filmed, this time by boy Z.At the time of the rapes X and Y were 14 and Z was 13. They were convicted of 10 rape offences between them.Tom Little KC said the judge in the case was "wrong to conclude that a community sentenc...