English Gang Rapists Who Targeted Schoolgirls, Filmed Attacks Dodge Prison Time

By Rebeka Zeljko

A gang of teenagers who prosecutors said filmed themselves raping schoolgirls avoided jail time in the United Kingdom.

Two 14-year-old boys targeted a 15-year-old girl on Snapchat before raping her at an underpass, according to a Crown Prosecution Service press release. Two months later, the same assailants joined by another 13-year-old gang-raped another schoolgirl at knifepoint. Prosecutors said the boys “brazenly filmed” themselves and laughed during the attacks, the BBC reported. The teenagers, who are reportedly part of the “traveller community” in the UK, were all convicted of rape in March.

The two older boys were also found guilty of “taking indecent images of a child,” referring to the recordings of their attacks.

Despite the clear cut conviction, all three attackers were given youth habilitation orders rather than jail sentences after Judge Nicholas Rowland let them off the hook saying, “[N]one of you need to go to prison,” according to the BBC. (RELATED: ‘Treated As A Slave’: Horrifying Details Emerge About Massive UK Rape Scandal)

“I should avoid criminalizing these children unnecessarily and understand the effects of their behavior and support their reintegration into society,” Rowland continued, claiming “peer pressure played a large part in what went on.”

The two older boys, who are now 15, were given Youth Rehabilitation Orders (YRO) for just three years as well as 180 days of “intensive surveillance and supervision,” the Daily Mail reported. The third boy, who is now 14, was given 18 months of YRO. All three boys are also subject to a three-month curfew and were placed on 10-year restraining orders to not contact the victims, according to the BBC. (RELATED: UK ‘Asylum Seeker’ Accused Of Raping 15-Year-Old Schoolgirl, Dubbing Her His ‘Sex Doll’)

A jury convicted the first teen on two counts of rape and one count of taking indecent images of a child. The second was convicted of six counts of rape and the third was convicted of two counts of rape.

Hampshire and Isle of White Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones called the sentences too lenient, saying they “offer little comfort to their victims,” the Daily Echo reported.

“I’m deeply concerned these boys felt they could carry out such terrifying acts and share them online and not go to prison,” Jones said. “Their sentences reflect a clear focus on rehabilitation rather than criminalization. They are far too lenient.”