A terrible crime unpunished!! Imho 🙄

To be honest I feel like long custodial sentences are required and, personally, I'd bring back the birch for these boys. They need a harsh lesson and that has to be shared in order to show others that it's socially unacceptable.

A government spokesperson said the attorney general's office had received "multiple" requests for the sentences to be reviewed under the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme.
It said it shared the public's shock at the details of this "horrific case" and its thoughts were with the young victims - and that its law officers, the attorney general and the solicitor general, were "urgently reviewing the case with the utmost care and attention"

Apparently they have been inundated with requests to look again at the sentences.

Hopefully the powers that be will take note and justice will be served.

I'm glad there is going to be a sentence review, this was an appalling crime I feel so sorry for this young girl and how it has impacted on her life now and going forward. I do hope that she is receiving adequate support and counselling. It always doubly sickens me in such cases, first the rape, but the filming of it, for the victim that must massively crank up the horror of what they've been through.

I really don't care about them, the judge was far too lenient imo. I hope they get their just desserts one way or another.

TerriBull

I'm glad there is going to be a sentence review, this was an appalling crime I feel so sorry for this young girl and how it has impacted on her life now and going forward. I do hope that she is receiving adequate support and counselling. It always doubly sickens me in such cases, first the rape, but the filming of it, for the victim that must massively crank up the horror of what they've been through.

I really don't care about them, the judge was far too lenient imo. I hope they get their just desserts one way or another.

There were two girls Terri and I think 11 instances of rape. And I agree with you wholeheartedly, my heart goes out to the victims and their families who now have to live with the added torment of knowing that the perpetrators got away with it. How must they feel??
Seems that the judge ignored them completely and only had sympathy for the culprits, who may be underage but then so are the girls.
Is just crazy and right now fear that a minority of young boys might think they can get away with this too.
What a terrible message to be sending out.

I’m another who is shocked by these lenient sentences. Not criminalising the boys? They are criminals so treat them as such. I don’t accept the low intelligence excuse - they’re not so stupid they didn’t know how to film and upload for kicks, and they committed the crimes not once but twice.

The poor victims have been sidelined and dismissed. It’s they who will be serving a life sentence, not the perpetrators.

I think many males don't appreciate how traumatic rape is. The victim never recovers from the attack.
There is so much of it happening right now. Perhaps in future it should be a woman judge who deals with it. I think these boys were very fortunate that the fathers/brothers of these girls didn't take justice into their own hands.

Cossy

How would you feel if the victims were your DGDs?

Did you misread my post as some kind of sympathy/support for the boys or disregard for the girls?

Or their mothers, Mum2three. If that had been one of my daughters I’d have found it very difficult to keep control.

butterandjam

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 :-(

I would suggest at 15 being raped 3 times in a dark underpass trumps your 15 is a terrible age to arrest normal maturation and development
This attitude led us to be in the situation we are now in.
Not forgetting that this tragic case could not only leave the poor child with mental scars but also physical scars and all your concerned with is that these scum won’t mature. 😡

mum2three

I think many males don't appreciate how traumatic rape is. The victim never recovers from the attack.
There is so much of it happening right now. Perhaps in future it should be a woman judge who deals with it. I think these boys were very fortunate that the fathers/brothers of these girls didn't take justice into their own hands.

Or women getting together

We have less physical ways of delivering justice or making change maybe but can be powerful. And within the law.

Public calling out - forming associations, being articulate and in the press as groups, demanding change in sentencing - "outing" males for unacceptable behaviour. encouraging other women not to "put up and shut up".

Ideally really that women and men do this together - that is the most powerful of all, but if men won't step up we have to.

I agree with you Petra and am in no way agreeing with you butterandjam.
My opinion is that much more harm will be done by allowing these boys to be let off the hook, not only does it send out the wrong message it means that they can pursue a similar pattern of raping girls/women because they have already started down the path to predatory behaviour and simply got a slapped wrist for it. And I dare say they will still boast of their exploits online or to their mates. What kind of punishment is there that at least makes the victims and their families feel justice has been done??
If I were related to the victims I would feel completely devastated by the sentencing, they have been given nothing in the way of justice to cling to and to help the victims heal.

On BBC News last night it said this case is being reopened due to the strength of feeling from all sides.

I sometimes think some judges live in such a rarified atmosphere they have no idea of contemporary expectations. Focusing on the victim should be their main concern, women have rightly had enough, hence the MeToo movement.

Taking pity on these boys is misplaced, there needs to be consequences for their actions.

The victim will live with this for the rest of her life, the impact on her mental health and the long term trauma needs to be addressed. She will need support and psychological counselling before she can, in any shape or form, pick up the pieces and get on with her life.

Judges need educating on the impact of rape, the violence and severe damage inflicted not only by the act but the posting of the horror being put online.

I have no pity for these boys, the victim's needs are paramount.

One wonders what sort of toxic backgrounds these boys come from so, if they are released back to their families will they change? This judge needs to be given a short sharp lesson in how other people live. I understand that he even praised the boys for their behaviour during the trial!

Judges have to sentence within certain rules, which are often not suited to deal with exceptional cases like this.

In many aspects of life tthere are conflicts between 'the rules' and the exceptions that make them inappropriate.

I totally agree that the sentences are inappropriate and woul be pleased to see the case reopened.
By coincidence my bookclub has just read ‘Take It Back” by Kia Abdullah, which is about a rape situation similar to this real life crime. It goes into the backgrounds of all those involved and as a reader challenges your conceptions throughout. Worth a read.

One of the mitigating factors that was taken into consideration by the judge was the fact that the boys are of very low intelligence. The implication being that they didn't understand that assaulting and raping girls and posting indecent films of the events on social media was wrong and should therefore be treated leniently.

To my mind the fact that they were too dim to realise the implications of what they were doing increases the risk of their doing the same thing again, especially as they were only lightly punished the first time.

Good point Magenta8. I don’t think being of low intelligence is a mitigating factor.

butterandjam

Cossy

How would you feel if the victims were your DGDs?

Did you misread my post as some kind of sympathy/support for the boys or disregard for the girls?

I didn’t read it that way.
I read it that you felt the punishment that many want would probably result in the boys being an even bigger danger when they came out.
Unfortunately so many young people don’t seem to have been brought up with any values. I’m not sure how they can be given them retrospectively , mixing them in with others with the same values doesn’t seem to be a good idea but I don’t know the answer.

The press reported the boys as being from the Travellers community so they are virtually untouchable.

I didn't know they were from the travelling community, but there are some from that demographic who appear to get away with breaking the law Moving into fields and concreting over those spaces in the most opportunistic way, disregarding planning laws which anyone else would fall foul of. This rape is far more serious than any of that though and until Fallingstar pointed out up thread, it wasn't an isolated incident.

Should low intelligence be equated with not knowing right from wrong? that comes across as a get out clause. Possibly, more to do with how they've been raised and in that their parents are culpable. There should be an innate sense that committing certain acts are really wrong imo, they would have been very aware of their victims distress, maybe they're just plain wicked. Too much skirting around really bad happenings and coming up with a multitude of excuses for very base behaviour.

Magenta8

One of the mitigating factors that was taken into consideration by the judge was the fact that the boys are of very low intelligence. The implication being that they didn't understand that assaulting and raping girls and posting indecent films of the events on social media was wrong and should therefore be treated leniently.

To my mind the fact that they were too dim to realise the implications of what they were doing increases the risk of their doing the same thing again, especially as they were only lightly punished the first time.

They were intelligent enough to film and post on social media…

I’m relieved the sentences are to be reviewed. I’ve always supported non custodial sentences in youth offending but not in this case. Surely they could have been sent to Secure Units, like the ones the murderers of Ajamie Bukger went to. They’re locked in. There is education on site and direct work focussed on their offences. When older, transfer to prison can happen
These were horrific premeditated offences, filmed and shared on line. ADHD and low IQ should not preclude loss of liberty

SueDonim

I’m another who is shocked by these lenient sentences. Not criminalising the boys? They are criminals so treat them as such. I don’t accept the low intelligence excuse - they’re not so stupid they didn’t know how to film and upload for kicks, and they committed the crimes not once but twice.

The poor victims have been sidelined and dismissed. It’s they who will be serving a life sentence, not the perpetrators.

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
I do wonder about that judge tbh.😲

Yes it's a bit of a trope (examine their hard drives) but you have to wonder why some judges and magistrates seem to be unduly lenient in these and other cases. There have been reports of adults with thousands of photos of child sexual abuse on their systems who seem to 'get off' very lightly. The classic 'they only looked at photos' doesn't cut it, every photo meant a child suffered so a pervert could enjoy watching the abuse.
One of the victims has said it felt like a brick to her face. Why would a victim relive the worst event of their life in court when the perpetuators get off virtually scot-free? There wasn't even any doubt in this case, they'd filmed and posted video of the rapes.