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Cachella SmithLive reporter<\/p>\n
‘Justice has been served’, victims’ families say as custodial sentences issuedpublished at 17:02 BST 2 July<\/p>\n
17:02 BST 2 July<\/p>\n
Cachella Smith
Live reporter<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4f75bcc8-dd09-465d-b121-ddcff05c584a.jpg.webp\")
Image source, Reuters<\/p>\n
Two boys convicted of raping two teenage girls have had their
\noriginal non-custodial sentences overturned by the Court of Appeal and have
\nbeen given four years\u2019 detention. <\/p>\n
The initial sentences were referred to the court after
\nAttorney General Lord Hermer called them \u201cunduly lenient\u201d. <\/p>\n
The offenders – anonymised in court as X and Y – were both 14 at the time of the attacks and
\ninitially sentenced to Youth Rehabilitation Orders. <\/p>\n
These were referred to the
\nCourt of Appeal after an outcry from the girls and their families and from
\npoliticians. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described it as “an
\nappalling case”.<\/p>\n
A third defendant – referred to in court as Z – was found
\nguilty of rape offences by aiding and abetting two attacks on the second victim.\n<\/p>\n
He has not had his sentence changed – his age and his
\ninvolvement in the second incident only were referenced in that decision.<\/p>\n
Their victims – known as C1 and C2 – were aged 15 and 14
\nrespectively at the time of the separate attacks in November 2024 and January
\n2025. <\/p>\n
A “crucial feature” of the case was that the boys’
\nactions were repeated in a second incident which took place months after the
\nfirst, the appeal judge found.<\/p>\n
The girls’ families said today they were
\n“thankful” their voices had been heard, adding they were relieved the
\ncourt recognised the “seriousness” of the crimes.<\/p>\n
It followed one of the girls telling the BBC the original judge’s “Justice has been served,” C2’s family said.<\/p>\n In a separate statement, C1 said the attack left her “harmed so severely” she doesn’t think she will “ever be the same”.<\/p>\n
\ndecision had felt like a “rock in the face”<\/a>.<\/p>\n