Three teenage boys who raped girls as young as 14 have been spared prison and handed just £26 fines in three separate cases in the North East, it has emerged.
The boys were all given youth rehabilitation orders — the same lenient sentence handed to the three teenagers in the controversial Fordingbridge rape case, which has already been referred to the Court of Appeal as “unduly lenient”.
The £26 charge is automatically applied to every defendant under 18 who receives a youth rehabilitation order, no matter how serious the crime.
Sentencing guidelines for children state that custody must be a “last resort”, with courts told to prioritise “rehabilitation” and to avoid “criminalising” young offenders unnecessarily.
‘Feels like he got away with it’
One of the victims, who was 15 when she was raped, told of her disbelief at the outcome.
“It feels like he just got away with it,” she said. “I’m scared I’ll bump into him. These sentences make boys who are a danger to women and girls feel like they can get away with anything.”
Read related news:
Actress Lolo criticizes explicit TikTok challenge for girls
Two Nigerians jailed for reportedly raping teenage girl in UK
Man jailed for 12 years for sexual assaults on two teenage girls, woman in Orkney
A victims’ justice group described the £26 penalty as “less than a parking fine”.
The cases come just weeks after widespread public fury over Judge Nicholas Rowland’s decision not to jail two 15-year-old boys who raped two girls — one at knifepoint — and filmed the attacks before posting the footage online. A 14-year-old boy who aided and abetted the rapes was also spared custody. All three received youth rehabilitation orders.
The judge said he wanted to “avoid criminalising these children unnecessarily”. On Tuesday, Attorney General Lord Hermer ruled the sentences “unduly lenient” and referred them to the Court of Appeal for possible increase.
The three North East cases
In the first case, a teenage boy was convicted of raping a girl aged 16 or over in August 2023, plus two separate sexual assaults — one in August 2023 and another on a 15-year-old girl in February 2023. He received a youth rehabilitation order and was placed on the sex offenders register for 30 months.
In the second case, a 15-year-old boy was convicted of a serious sexual assault on a 14-year-old girl in April 2024 and was also given a youth rehabilitation order.
In the third case, a 17-year-old — who has since turned 18 — was convicted of raping a 15-year-old girl and sentenced in September 2025 to a youth rehabilitation order. He too was placed on the sex offenders register for 30 months.
The sentences only came to light because victim advocates from the Rape and Sexual Abuse Counselling Centre (RSACC), which supports victims in Darlington and Co Durham, were in court and were left horrified by the outcomes.
