A 15-year-old girl who was raped by three teenage traveller boys has spoken out about the horrific attacks, saying she can always feel their hands on her and no longer sleeps at night. The boys, who were all members of the traveller community, were handed youth rehabilitation orders and walked free from court despite the horrific nature of the attacks.
One of the two schoolgirls raped by three teenage traveller boys has said she can always feel their hands on her, as her parents call for her attackers to be jailed.
The 15-year-old girl said she no longer sleeps at night through fear of seeing her rapists again, after they were spared jail in a decision which has sparked public outcry. The two girls, aged 14 and 15 at the time, were raped by two 14-year-old boys weeks apart in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, with a then-13-year-old also convicted over his role in the second incident and an indecent images offence.
But despite the horrific nature of the attacks - which saw one of the girls gang-raped at knifepoint with the assaults filmed and one uploaded to social media - all three were handed youth rehabilitation orders and walked free from court. The decision by Judge Nicholas Rowland sparked outrage and multiple referrals to the Attorney General Richard Hermer KC under the unduly lenient scheme, after he praised the boys - who are all members of the traveller community - for their conduct during trial, saying they had done very well dealing with restrictions placed upon them.
Public outcry forced Attorney General Hermer to refer the sentences to the Court of Appeal, which will now consider whether the boys' sentences should be increased - meaning they could be handed prison time. In an interview with BBC Newsnight, one of the victims, now aged 15, said: Why would you avoid criminalising someone who has done a criminal act?
They did it, they need to understand that their actions do have consequences and they can't just get away with not being criminalised. The 15-year-old girl told Victoria Derbyshire on BBC Newsnight that she can always feel their hands on her and no longer sleeps at night after the attack.
One of three teenage travellers convicted of rape following a five-week trial at Southampton Crown Court with the two older boys - both just 14 at the time - also found guilty of taking indecent images of a child, relating to the recordings they made of their attacks. All three boys were spared jail despite the horrific nature of the attacks they carried out.
The youngest of the three boys in a photograph posted on his TikTok account just two weeks prior to the rape which showed him out late at night hunting rabbits and hares with his lurcher dog, a practice known as lamping - a criminal offence. Discussing how the crimes had affected her, the girl said: I feel like no matter what I do, I can always feel their hands on me, no matter how much I've scrubbed, how much I've tried to get the feeling away it's always there and it just doesn't feel like my body anymore.
I get really vivid, vivid flashbacks, but they can come at random times, any place, anywhere, sometimes without triggers as well. I don't sleep at night, because I'm worried something's going to happen. I struggle to get out of bed because I have no motivation to. The victim added that she was losing out on the potential she would have had if none of this had happened.
The girl's father said the family felt anger over the sentences and that it was heartbreaking to see his daughter's confidence drop to a low. He added: We have to put our faith in the justice system that they're going to do right by us and that's completely gone because they haven't protected her. She's still living this nightmare and will continue living it while they just carry on with their everyday lives.
The girl's father said the family felt anger over the sentences and called for the boys to be given a custodial sentence of a minimum of two years. The victim said: Why would you avoid criminalising someone who has done a criminal act? They did it, they need to understand that their actions do have consequences and they can't just get away with not being criminalised.
The girl's father called for the boys to be given a custodial sentence of a minimum of two years, adding: I feel they have to have something in there, going forwards, that impacts them for life. He added: This will cause a lifelong impact on my daughter and the family. This isn't going away five years, 10 years. This is a life sentence for her.
The girl's mother called for the boys to be on the sex offenders register for life, adding: They knew what they were doing, they did it twice. In an interview with the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, the other victim, now 16, said of the boys' sentence: The words hit like a rock straight in my face. She added: What is the point in putting me through that just to say it's fine?
Attorney General Richard Hermer KC said there was an epidemic of violence against women and girls in this country after Sir Keir Starmer announced the distressing case would be referred following a public outcry
Rape Teenage Traveller Boys Youth Rehabilitation Orders Court Of Appeal Custodial Sentence Sex Offenders Register
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