The mother of a teenage girl raped by two boys in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, has said their new four-year detention sentences are “better” but still “not enough” – after the Court of Appeal overturned their original non-custodial punishments.
Speaking to the BBC, the mother of the victim, referred to as Jazmine, said: “How could any mother be happy with four years? Jazmine is going to live with a lifetime of trauma, and she’s going to live with a lifetime sentence.” She added: “Of course, it’s not enough, but it’s more than we had … So, I have to be grateful.”
“Two teenage rapists given four years after unduly lenient sentences overturned; mother says punishment still 'not enough'”
The two teenage boys, known as X and Y for legal reasons, had initially been handed youth rehabilitation orders – a decision the attorney general, Lord Hermer, referred to the Court of Appeal as “unduly lenient”. On Thursday, Lady Chief Justice Baroness Sue Carr said trial judge Nicholas Rowland had “erred in his assessment of the seriousness of the offences”. She told the boys: “You both raped two girls on two different occasions. You were enjoying it and egging each other on. You made it worse by filming it.”
Carr made clear that had the boys been adults, sentences in excess of 10 years would have been required. However, because of their youth and the 231 days already served on curfew, they will “not stay in detention” for the full four years. Both were also handed lifelong restraining orders prohibiting contact with the victims.
A third boy, Z, who was convicted of rape for his part in filming one of the attacks, did not have his sentence changed. Carr said: “What you did was also very bad. We have decided that because you were very young … we do not need to change your sentence.”
In a statement read out by barrister Charlotte Proudman, the family of Jazmine said they had lived through “a nightmare that no family should ever have to endure”. They added: “Today’s judgement cannot erase what our daughter has suffered but it does acknowledge the serious…”
The offenders are expected to appeal the court’s updated sentencing.