{"id":604393,"date":"2026-05-26T07:53:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T07:53:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/604393\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T07:53:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T07:53:09","slug":"gisele-pelicot-deeply-shocked-by-decision-not-to-jail-boys-in-rape-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/604393\/","title":{"rendered":"Gis\u00e8le Pelicot ‘deeply shocked’ by decision not to jail boys in rape case"},"content":{"rendered":"

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has described the case as “appalling”<\/a>, adding that the two girls had “shown extraordinary bravery and strength in heinous circumstances”.<\/p>\n

The sentences given by Judge Nicholas Rowland at Southampton Crown Court to the three boys are currently being reviewed by Attorney General Lord Richard Hermer.<\/p>\n

One of the 15-year-olds was given a three-year Youth Rehabilitation Order (YRO) with 180 days of intensive supervision and surveillance for the rape of each of the two girls and two indecent images charges.<\/p>\n

The other 15-year-old was given the same sentence for three charges of rape against each of the victims and four counts of taking indecent images.<\/p>\n

The 14-year-old boy was given an 18-month YRO for charges of rape in the January 2025 attack by encouraging one of the other defendants.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The boys would not have been sent to prison if they had been given custodial sentences. People who are aged under 18 serve custodial sentences in secure centres for children.<\/p>\n

In his sentencing remarks last week, Judge Rowland said: “I should avoid criminalising these children unnecessarily and understand the effects of their behaviour and support their reintegration into society.”<\/p>\n

He stressed the “seriousness” of the crimes, and said the filming of the assaults made them even “more serious” – but also emphasised their “very young ages”.<\/p>\n

“None of you need to go to prison today,” he said.<\/p>\n

Sentencing guidelines from the Sentencing Council for England and Wales state that courts are expected to prioritise rehabilitation for children, using custody only as a last resort.<\/p>\n

In making the sentencing decision, courts look at the seriousness of the case, alongside personal factors – such as age and maturity.<\/p>\n

Earlier in the hearing, Judge Rowland spoke directly to one of the teenage victims and told her: “The sentence I’m about to pass cannot undo what has happened to you.<\/p>\n

“I hope when you look back you’ll at least take some comfort that you – both of you – have shown great courage.”<\/p>\n

The attorney general will have 28 days to decide whether the sentences should be referred to the Court of Appeal.<\/p>\n

One of the victims, now 16, she said she and her family wanted the sentences to be changed, and the boys sent to jail, saying the sentences amounted to a “slap on the wrist”.<\/p>\n

“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?” the girl asked.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has described the case as “appalling”, adding that the two girls had “shown…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":604394,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[49,50,51,47,52,48],"class_list":["post-604393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=604393"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604393\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/604394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=604393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=604393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=604393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}