Two boys convicted of raping two teenage girls in Fordingbridge, Hampshire have had their non-custodial sentences replaced with four-year detention orders following a Court of Appeal ruling.The case was referred to the appellate court after the original Youth Rehabilitation Orders were deemed “unduly lenient” by the Attorney General.

Lady Chief Justice Baroness Sue Carr stated that the trial judge had failed to fully account for the seriousness of the offences and the significant psychological harm caused to the victims.

She emphasised that custodial sentences were unavoidable given the gravity of the crimes, noting that the boys had “raped two girls on two different occasions” and had aggravated the offences by encouraging each other and filming the attacks.

The offences took place when the perpetrators were aged between 13 and 14, and involved two separate victims aged 14 and 15 at the time, with incidents occurring in 2024 and 2025 in public locations in Fordingbridge.Both victims had initially engaged in consensual sexual activity with the boys before the assaults occurred.A third boy involved in filming one of the incidents did not have his sentence changed.The court also imposed lifelong restraining orders preventing contact with the victims.

While the original sentences included Youth Rehabilitation Orders, curfews, and supervision requirements, the Court of Appeal concluded that detention was necessary, although time already spent under curfew will be deducted from the sentences.

Victims’ families described the decision as an acknowledgement of the seriousness of the harm, though they emphasised that no sentence could undo the trauma suffered.The Lady Chief Justice also criticised an inaccurate Crown Prosecution Service press release that suggested a knife had been used.The case has drawn wider political attention and renewed debate about sentencing in serious youth sexual offence cases.