Teenage gang rape case

[matticus]

Obviously there's a lot to this ...
but can I first ask if anyone knows how typical/atypical the sentences are?
Google failing me, as I guess teenage boys rarely do things this horrendous

 

[Beebo]

Obviously there's a lot to this ...
but can I first ask if anyone knows how typical/atypical the sentences are?
Google failing me, as I guess teenage boys rarely do things this horrendous

I can’t answer that.
But from my own moral and societal views a custodial sentence should be a minimum starting point.
These weren’t some 8 years olds playing doctors and nurses at home. These were mid teens in a local park, with a premeditated agenda.

 

[Pross]

I looked it up the other day when it got mentioned as it felt ridiculously lenient but it seems to fit the sentencing guidance. That said, there were at least 4 aggravating issues that should be taken into account.

The crime itself is bad enough and up there with very serious assaults as the one having the biggest victim impact but when you add in the planning to lure the girls, use of weapons and, crucially for me, the videoing / sharing it to increase the victims’ humiliation it all feels ridiculously lenient. The fact they were prepared to film and share what they did shows a complete disregard for the law that appears to have been justified and the sentencing doesn’t said much of a message out to other teenage boys with misogynistic ideas.

 

[Pross]

FWIW here are the guidelines which the judge appears to have followed although he could have given a custodial sentence. His comments a pretty much chunks taken from the guidance so although his comments seem a bit insensitive to the victims and very soft it’s not really his fault. For me the guidance gives far too much weight to age, at 13/14 I would have thought any boy would, and definitely should, know that their actions are illegal.

https://sentencingcouncil.org.uk/guidelines/sexual-offences-sentencing-children-and-young-people/

 

[AuroraSaab]

I don't get how it was claimed that the rapists had a poor understanding of consent. A knife was used. Surely that showed they understood consent wasn't being given. I don't care if the sentencing guidelines allow such leniency, I really can't see how the circumstances add up to such an outcome. It's going to deter victims from reporting sexual assault.

The police seem to have acted supportively in this case but Giselle Pelicot was at the Hay book festival this weekend and her account of how French police treated her initially was awful.

 

[Ian H]

The seemingly lenient sentencing seems to be not unusual.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/may/29/teenage-boys-rape-sentencing-youth-courts

 

[Pblakeney]

The seemingly lenient sentencing seems to be not unusual.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/may/29/teenage-boys-rape-sentencing-youth-courts

Apparently it is all to do with rehabilitation and turning them into worthy citizens.
Fair enough, but I wonder, do the victims get anywhere near the same level of assistance? Gut instinct says no.

 

[BoldonLad]

Apparently it is all to do with rehabilitation and turning them into worthy citizens.
Fair enough, but I wonder, do the victims get anywhere near the same level of assistance? Gut instinct says no.

In addition to your thoughts on the victims, I would question “is there any monitoring to measure the success or otherwise of the rehabilitation”, and I don’t mean a couple of years on a “register”.

 

[Pross]

The seemingly lenient sentencing seems to be not unusual.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/may/29/teenage-boys-rape-sentencing-youth-courts

It’s down to what the sentencing guidance says unfortunately. I suspect that might come under review now this case has highlighted the issue. Of course there should be an aim to rehabilitate but there also needs to be a suitable level of the punishment aspect to create a deterrent too.

 

[Psamathe]

I've been reading but not posting as whilst this concerns me it's way beyond my understanding of crime, punishment, effectiveness of prison, etc.

It’s down to what the sentencing guidance says unfortunately. I suspect that might come under review now this case has highlighted the issue. Of course there should be an aim to rehabilitate but there also needs to be a suitable level of the punishment aspect to create a deterrent too.

Another aspect that concerns me (without knowing solutions) is that one victim who I believe talked to reporters when this initial case became headline news was saying how she is now scared to leave her house, scared to go to school in case she bumps into those who attacked her. That her attackers are still wandering around her locality is in effect imposing a punishment on the victim. And that would often still apply were they to serve a prison sentence and then after they are released.

 

[Pross]

I've been reading but not posting as whilst this concerns me it's way beyond my understanding of crime, punishment, effectiveness of prison, etc.

Another aspect that concerns me (without knowing solutions) is that one victim who I believe talked to reporters when this initial case became headline news was saying how she is now scared to leave her house, scared to go to school in case she bumps into those who attacked her. That her attackers are still wandering around her locality is in effect imposing a punishment on the victim. And that would often still apply were they to serve a prison sentence and then after they are released.

Yeah, I know someone who was raped by a friend’s father on a sleepover as a teenager. Now, about 20 years on, she still won’t go out in her home town due to way the family of the man behaved (and he is obviously out again now too). It’s been exacerbated in this case by them filming and sharing the attack (seemingly with no concern of incriminating themselves) which to me is the aggravating factor that should have pushed it into a prison sentence even if the actual crime wasn’t deemed bad enough. Fair play to the girls for standing up and speaking out, they must feel really badly let down. It’s no wonder the vast majority of rapes go unreported.

 

[matticus]

Apparently it is all to do with rehabilitation and turning them into worthy citizens.
Fair enough, but I wonder, do the victims get anywhere near the same level of assistance? Gut instinct says no.

Why the comparison? We rehabilitate offenders for the good of society - how we do this is determined by what works, and whether the costs are worthwhile. None of that is affected by how much support the victims get.
(and if you're convinced harsher sentences should apply, where are you getting the resources for this? We don't have the prison spaces to just increase sentences for every crime we think it's appropriate for, and the overall budget has limits too).

Equally the victims are supported according to their needs, whilst being restrained by total budgets for that stuff. We don't put more resources into victim support until it matches the resources put into offender rehab. What if you spent less on rehab and more on punishment - would that be a factor in determining the support given to victims?

I think "gut instinct" is a big part of the motivation for many posts here ...

 

[Pblakeney]

Why the comparison? We rehabilitate offenders for the good of society - how we do this is determined by what works, and whether the costs are worthwhile. None of that is affected by how much support the victims get.
(and if you're convinced harsher sentences should apply, where are you getting the resources for this? We don't have the prison spaces to just increase sentences for every crime we think it's appropriate for, and the overall budget has limits too).

Equally the victims are supported according to their needs, whilst being restrained by total budgets for that stuff. We don't put more resources into victim support until it matches the resources put into offender rehab. What if you spent less on rehab and more on punishment - would that be a factor in determining the support given to victims?

I think "gut instinct" is a big part of the motivation for many posts here ...

Simple. The perpetrators get support to improve their lives while the victims are left to get on with it, and just cope.
This is wrong, especially so when you hear of victims who do not cope.

 

[matticus]

Simple. The perpetrators get support to improve their lives while the victims are left to get on with it, and just cope.
This is wrong, especially so when you hear of victims who do not cope.

Srsly? You think teenage rape victims don't get any support?

 

[Pblakeney]

Srsly? You think teenage rape victims don't get any support?

The key word is in bold. Of course they do.
Srsly?