Court of Appeal Jails Two Teenage Rapists After Ruling Original Fordingbridge Sentences Were Too Lenient
LONDON: Two teenage boys convicted of raping two girls in the high-profile Fordingbridge case have been jailed after the Court of Appeal ruled that their original non-custodial sentences were far too lenient.
The two boys, identified only as X and Y because of their age, were originally given Youth Rehabilitation Orders despite being convicted of multiple rape offences and indecent image crimes involving two victims aged 15 and 14 in separate attacks in Fordingbridge, Hampshire. The sentences sparked widespread public outrage and were referred to the Court of Appeal under the UK's Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.
On Thursday, the Court of Appeal ruled that the original sentences failed to reflect the seriousness of the offences. The judges sentenced X and Y to four years in detention and imposed lifetime restraining orders preventing them from contacting their victims.
A third boy, identified as Z, who was younger and convicted over his role in one of the attacks, will not receive a longer sentence, with the Court of Appeal deciding to leave his original punishment unchanged.
The case became one of the UK's most controversial criminal justice decisions after the trial judge initially declined to impose custody, citing the offenders' ages and rehabilitation prospects. The appeal ruling is expected to have significant implications for future sentencing in serious youth sexual offence cases.