A terrible crime unpunished!! Imho 🙄

I feel very sorry for the victims, being raped leaves a lasting legacy regardless of the age of the perpetrators.

A very sad case all round. I can see why the judge did not want to criminalise children and also can't see that imprisonment would change their attitudes & behaviour more than the non-custodial punishments given to them. Isolating them from females in prison might make them resentful & even more dangerous in adult life.

Just such a shocking & sad case all round.

I am absolutely furious about this. The judge seems more concerned about the effect prison might have on the boys than about the damage that has been done to the victims.
The boys had a choice. The girls didn't.
Words fail me.

eddiecat78

I am absolutely furious about this. The judge seems more concerned about the effect prison might have on the boys than about the damage that has been done to the victims.
The boys had a choice. The girls didn't.
Words fail me.

I agree.
And I can understand how the judge wouldn’t want to criminalise children but these are very serious crimes which have damaged young girls who will now have to suffer the psychological consequences of rape for the rest of their lives.
The victims are not being considered.

I agree this seems shocking but these boys were described as having low intelligence and cognitive impairment.

This:

Rebecca Hitchen, spokesperson at the End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW), said: “We are hearing that young men are perpetrating more and more sexually violent crimes, and this case is a horrific example of this.

“We must question what young men are being taught and exposed to that results in them planning and executing such appalling violence as a group, particularly given the additional harm and degradation caused by the assaults being filmed.”

She said sexual violence devastates victims’ lives, and its effects ripple out across their communities, “creating a source of heightened fear for women and girls trying to go about their daily lives”.

“While we do not know the online environments these boys were exposed to, online misogyny is so pervasive that few young people will escape its reach.

"Questions must be asked about the extent to which misogynistic content online has contributed to the extreme harm they have committed. While perpetrators must be held accountable, we must also ensure that tech platforms are put under scrutiny for their role in such harm,” she added.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/may/21/boys-convicted-of-get-non-custodial-sentences-as-judge-says-they-should-not-be-criminalised-unnecessarily

Anyone seen what has been revealed about Robert Kenyon, Reform’s candidate for the Makerfield by-election? The vulgar misogyny about female public figures including sportswomen is appalling and yet this man, who Reform claim to have vetted, is already a councillor and is now standing (again) for a seat in Parliament. Almost 13,000 voted for him in 2024 and no doubt thousands will again on 18 June.

hopenothate.org.uk/2026/05/21/reform-candidate-makerfield-kenyon/

What standard is being set when a political party, tipped to win the next general election, is represented by men like this?

They will absolutely re offend.
Feminists have been talking for years about porn and the impact of porn. But nobody really cared.

It’s appalling, at least if locked away, women and girls will be safe for a while!

eddiecat78

I am absolutely furious about this. The judge seems more concerned about the effect prison might have on the boys than about the damage that has been done to the victims.
The boys had a choice. The girls didn't.
Words fail me.

. Had they been sentenced, they'd be sent to a Young Offenders Institution for under 18s.

What do you think the effect would be on boys, provided with a male teenage audience to boast their exploits to? Naming and describing the girls. Years spent boasting and fantasising about sex, porn and cruelty. A very interrupted education.

15 is a terrible age to arrest normal social maturation and development. Would they come out safer around women, or higher risk.

""Their sentences reflect a clear focus on rehabilitation "

IF their immaturity, youth and family background means rehabilitation is possible, that is surely the best outcome for the rest of society.

It's a bad taste in the mouth :-(

How would you feel if the victims were your DGDs?

Low intelligence is irrelevant - they were intelligent enough to be able to search the internet, access the various sites they did that informed their decision to commit these awful crimes, not once, but on two seperate occasions.

As any parent knows our children have to learn right from wrong and where boundaries are. We need also to remember that to release these children back to family, friends and others round them for them to get off such a heinous crime without any separation period from those family and friends is passing the message to those around them, especially their peer group of fellow boys that what they did is seen as being of no importance. It doesn't matter what you do to a girl, if youare young enough you can get away with it.

These boys are too young to go to formal youth custody, but I think they should be treated like other serious child offenders and kept in therapeutic and safe custody until they are the age to go to a Youth detention centre for a short period to know before they are released how unpleasant a real prison is. They should also be put on the Sex Offenders register for 10-15 years