The three boys were convicted at Southampton Crown Court on Thursday 5 March
Three teenage boys as young as 13 have been convicted of raping two girls in January 2025 and November 2024. The defendants, who were aged 13, 14 and 14 at the time of the offences, cannot be named for legal reasons.
The defendants were convicted on Thursday, March 5, at Southampton Crown Court after two separate incidents of rape, including a knife-point rape and other serious sexual offences, against two teenage girls in Hampshire.
The court heard that the victims, aged 14 and 15, were attacked in separate incidents less than two months apart and were physically overpowered. The girls did not know one another.
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In January 2025, a 14‑year‑old girl was assaulted after becoming separated from her friends. She was threatened with a knife and forced to leave her mobile phone and AirTag in a shop so that her movements could not be tracked, before being taken to a secluded area.
Two defendants took it in turns to rape the victim while the others encouraged the offending and filmed the assaults. The defendants left the scene when they believed they had been disturbed. The victim was later found distressed and reported the incident to police.
Forensic evidence supported the victim’s account, including damage to her trousers consistent with the use of a sharp instrument.
The investigation later identified a second victim, aged 15, who was raped in November 2024 by two of the same defendants, both aged 14 at the time.
The court heard that the victim had met one of the defendants online and travelled alone to meet him. They were later joined by another boy and taken to an underpass, where she was raped by both of them.
Lucy Paddick, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “This is a deeply concerning case which involved a disturbing level of encouragement between young boys, who acted together to rape two young girls in separate incidents.
“These girls were forced into sexual activity by boys who brazenly filmed the deeply distressing incidents.
“After speaking with the victims in this case and reviewing an extensive file of evidence, it was the Crown Prosecution Service’s case that these girls were violated and could not have consented to these terrifying encounters.
“The CPS worked closely with Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary to support the victims and other young witnesses to give their evidence, and we commend them for the courage they showed throughout this trial.
“Our lawyers will work tirelessly to pursue justice for victims, and we will continue to hold those responsible for crimes of this devastating nature to account, regardless of their age.”
The three defendants were convicted at Southampton Crown Court after a five-week trial. The convictions included rape and taking indecent images of a child, and they are to be sentenced at a later date.