I just want freedom from fear, says girl raped by teenage boys as sentences to be reviewed

A girl whose teenage rapists were spared custody and will now have their sentences reviewed has told the BBC she wants "freedom" from fear.

The girl, who was 14 when she was raped in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, told BBC Newsnight: "I just want to be able to go on a walk without being scared that I'm going to see them and they're gonna try to do something again."

Her father said the January 2025 attack has caused a "lifelong impact" on his daughter and called for a custodial sentence for the boys. "This is a life sentence for her," he said.

The sentences are being referred to the Court of Appeal, after an outcry when the boys were given youth rehabilitation orders.

Warning: This story contains details some may find distressing

Three boys were involved in the attack - two boys, then aged 14, were convicted of rape. A third, then 13, was guilty of rape by aiding and abetting the attack.

The Sentencing Council for England and Wales says that even in very serious cases, courts are expected to prioritise rehabilitation for children and use custody only as a last resort.

Both parents spoke anonymously to BBC Newsnight presenter Victoria Derbyshire along with their daughter.

The teenage girl said her mental health has suffered significantly following the attack and she struggles to get out of bed.

"I feel like no matter what I do, I can always feel their hands [the rapists'] 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," she said.

She said she suffers from "vivid flashbacks", adding: "I don't sleep at night, because I'm worried something's going to happen."

Going to school has also been challenging, she said: "I have very low attendance and with my exams going on it's not helping because I'm so far behind in my education. I'm just losing out on the potential I would have had if none of this had happened."

Her mother said she wanted her daughter not to "live in fear" but to "be able to be free and happy again".

Her father said the rape "will cause a lifelong impact on my daughter and my family. This isn't going away for five years, 10 years. This is a life sentence for her".

He added: "I understand that we may not be able to lock these boys up for a life sentence but it starts with a custodial sentence and I feel they have to have something in there, going forwards, that impacts them for life."

The girl met the boys in January 2025 at Fordingbridge Recreation Ground, where she was raped repeatedly.

One of her attackers pushed her down and used a knife to cut her clothing before forcing himself on her.

Video footage previously seen in court showed her lying motionless on the ground with "her face buried in her hands", while another boy was heard shouting words of encouragement.

Another girl, then aged 15, was raped in a separate incident by the two 14-year-olds in November 2024.

The boys, who cannot be named because they are children, filmed the rapes on their phones and later shared some of the footage online.

They denied the charges but were found guilty in March after a trial at Southampton Crown Court, with 10 rape convictions between them.

The two older boys, now 15, were given three-year Youth Rehabilitation Orders (YRO) with 180 days of intensive surveillance and supervision.

The third boy, now 14, was given an 18-month YRO.

All three boys were also made subject to a three-month curfew and given a restraining order for 10 years not to contact their victims.

Explaining his sentencing decision, Judge Nicholas Rowland said he would avoid "criminalising" the "very young" boys.

The judge stressed the "seriousness" of the crimes and said the filming of the assaults made them even "more serious".

Judges never publicly comment on cases they oversee because that would potentially undermine the words they have used in court. But they always have to show in court the reasons why they sentenced someone the way they did.

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.

Earlier this week Attorney General Lord Hermer said: "There has understandably been a huge amount of public interest and concern at this horrific case.

"I directed my officials to work urgently to allow me to consider this decision swiftly, and to begin to bring closure to the victims and their families."

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has called the case "distressing" and said "there are questions about the sentence".

The girl's mother told the BBC that her daughter was now a "prisoner in her own home".

Upon hearing that the boys had been given rehabilitation orders, she said her family were worried they would have to move house.

Her daughter is unable to "go out and move forward with her life", she said. "She could just wander down the street and bump into one of them."

The girl's father said he felt "absolute horror" about the sentences given.

"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 teenage girl told the BBC she felt "undermined, unheard, not listened to" by lawyers during the court case.

Her father said: "Everything seemed to be about them [the rapists] when it came to sentencing, not what the girls had been through."

He added: "These are some of the worst crimes anyone can do and they've repeatedly done it, so there has to be consequences for actions."

The other rape victim, a teenager who was 15 when she was raped in an underpass in Fordingbridge, previously told the BBC that the court's sentence had been like a "rock in my face".

"Why did I sit and put myself through the pain of going to court, going through a trial, reliving everything because of evidence and watching it all happen again?" she said.

"It sort of gave me a sense of what's the point... what was the point in putting me through that just to say that it's fine."

French rape survivor Gisèle Pelicot told BBC Breakfast this week she was "deeply shocked that these individuals were in fact able to gain their freedom again when, in fact, the victims are suffering so hard they will never be able to heal".

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story, information and support can be found at the BBC's Action Line.