Teen rapists spared jail partly because of intellectual limitations, judge said

Teen rapists spared jail partly because of intellectual limitations, judge said48 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleDominic CascianiHome and Legal CorrespondentCPSOne of the girls was attacked in an underpass beside the River AvonThree boys convicted of raping two girls in separate attacks were spared custody by a judge because of detailed evidence about the precise nature of their offending, prospects for rehabilitation, and the profound intellectual limitations of two of the teenagers.The boys' sentencing last month caused an outcry when they were given youth rehabilitation orders (YROs) after being found guilty of 10 counts of rape between them for their parts in the Hampshire assaults in 2024 and 2025.BBC News has since obtained the full transcript of the judge's sentencing remarks revealing the extremely complex sentencing exercise, including submissions about the boys' neurological impairments and their capacity to understand the impact that they had had on the victims.The sentences are being referred to the Court of Appeal after a review.Two boys, then aged 14, were convicted of raping a girl, then aged 15, in November 2024 in Fordingbridge.In a separate incident in January 2025, a second girl, then aged 14, was raped by the two boys in Fordingbridge. A third boy, then 13, was found guilty of rape by aiding and abetting that attack.According to the full transcript, an expert from the government's Youth Justice Service told Southampton Crown Court that placing one of boys in custody would be damaging, given his complex intellectual impairments.Attorney general to review teen boys' rape sentencesGirl raped by teenage boys tells BBC: 'I'm scared I'm going to see them'Girl raped by boys spared jail tells BBC judge's decision was like 'rock in my face'Judge Nicholas Rowland said the first offender, J, was described as having ADHD and "slight cognitive difficulties", but he said that...