Fordingbridge rape victim: “I’m the one being punished”

Summary

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The Story — Fordingbridge Rape Victim: “I’m the one being punished”

Podcast: The Story by The Times
Hosts: Manveen Rana, Luke Jones
Episode Date: May 28, 2026

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Overview

This powerful episode, hosted by Manveen Rana with crime correspondent Jessica Sharkey, centers on an in-depth interview with “Olivia” (a pseudonym), a teenage victim of the Fordingbridge rape case, and her parents. It exposes the traumatic events, their aftermath, the controversial non-custodial sentencing of the perpetrators, and the growing national outcry, exploring larger questions about justice for young sexual assault victims and government plans for youth justice reform.

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Key Points & Insights

1. The Crimes and Immediate Impact

• Events (01:43–02:40; 05:32–07:29):

  • In Jan 2025, three boys sexually assaulted and filmed 14-year-old Olivia in Fordingbridge, Hampshire.
  • Two months earlier, two of the same boys had raped a 15-year-old girl, also filming the attack.
  • The crimes only came to police attention after the second attack; the November 2024 assault was revealed during investigation.

• Victim perspective:

  • Olivia’s life radically changed after the attack:
    • “It just felt like I was being punished for something that wasn’t my fault… I haven’t been going to school, really. I’ve fallen quite far behind. Struggled with a lot of things because of it.” — Olivia (10:16)

• Family trauma:

  • “To have to watch your daughter go through what she has, to see her go from this bubbly, very outgoing girl to someone who’s… her confidence has gone.” — Olivia’s father (02:26)
  • “She’s being punished more than they are.” — Olivia’s mother (11:40)
  • Flashbacks, withdrawal, disrupted education, and discussion of moving towns underscore lasting impact.

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2. The Trial Experience

• Court Process (13:31–15:14):

  • Five-week trial at Southampton Crown Court; Olivia gave evidence via video link.
  • Olivia’s family distressed by defense tactics:
    • Defense tried to portray Olivia as attention-seeking; family felt attacked personally.
    • “I got to a point where I pretty much shouted at her [the defense barrister], you don’t need to be bringing my family into this. This isn’t about them. It’s about what the boys did to me.” — Olivia (15:14)

• Family distress:

  • “There were points I had to leave the court… I just couldn’t listen to her, I couldn’t watch her break down via video link. And the boys were sat there with their barristers, completely emotionless.” — Olivia’s father (14:12)

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3. Sentencing and Public Outcry

• Verdict and Sentencing (18:29–21:59):

  • All three boys convicted of multiple rape and indecent image charges.
  • Judge issued non-custodial Youth Rehabilitation Orders, emphasizing need to avoid “criminalizing” children; praised boys’ court behavior.
    • “It was all about them. It was all about the boys. It wasn’t about the girls… I think [the Judge] handled it completely wrong.” — Olivia’s mother (21:09)
    • “Why did I go through all of that for nothing to come about with it? …At the end, making excuses like, ‘the boy has a low IQ, the boy has ADHD’—that doesn’t give them the right.” — Olivia (21:59)

• National Response (19:45–23:23):

  • Prime Minister Keir Starmer:
    • “I find it distressing as a politician, I find it distressing as a father.” (03:43)
    • Announced sentencing review (03:51).
  • Lord Hermer, Attorney General, referred sentence to Court of Appeal under the “unduly lenient sentence scheme” due to public outcry.
    • “The public outcry…the support we’ve had through this has been amazing.” — Olivia’s father (23:52)

• Concerns About Sentencing Register:

  • “They are going on the register, but only for two and a half years. I think it needs to be longer than that. Two and a half years is not really a lot.” — Olivia’s mother (24:17)

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4. Call for Justice Reform

• Legal and Societal Reflections (25:00–27:14):
  • Government considering reforms: possible reduction in custodial sentences for children; raising age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14.
  • Olivia’s father on reform proposals:
    • “There is a time and a place for rehabilitation all day long…when you have crimes of this nature…that has to be custodial, there has to be punishment…”
    • “There’s nothing to stop them starting their rehabilitation in custody, being educated in custody, so when they’re released, they can then practice that in society.” (25:57)
  • Barrister Charlotte Proudman remarked publicly that “the criminal justice system was not fit for purpose and was protecting the future of bullies rather than the harm caused to girls.” (27:14)

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5. Olivia’s Hopes and Ongoing Struggles

• Looking Forward (28:39–29:24):
  • Olivia wants to move on, continue her education, but fears seeing her attackers:
    • “I do want a future. It’s just hard to see where I can end up if I’m still worried about them. I want to be able to go out. I want to be able to see my friends…It’d just be nice to be able to properly go out with them.”
  • The family holds out hope for a tougher sentence after appeal, but acknowledge the long road Olivia faces.

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Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• “It is as good as a life sentence for my daughter…and it will get easier with time, but it will never go away.” — Olivia’s father (01:43)
• “I pretty much shouted at her, you don’t need to be bringing my family into this. This isn’t about them. It’s about what the boys did to me.” — Olivia (15:14)
• “Why did I go through all of that for nothing to come about with it?” — Olivia (21:59)
• “The line in the sand is when you have crime as serious as this, that has to be custodial, there has to be punishment.” — Olivia’s father (25:57)

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Key Timestamps

• 01:43–02:26: Father’s introduction, scale of trauma.
• 05:02–07:29: Jessica Sharkey explains the sequence of both assaults.
• 10:16–10:30: Olivia on the lasting impact: “I was being punished for something that wasn’t my fault.”
• 12:32–12:57: Olivia describes flashbacks and “shutting down” at school.
• 14:46–15:14: Olivia and her mother confront defense barrister’s provocations.
• 19:45–21:59: Family’s reaction to non-custodial sentence and judge’s statements.
• 23:52–24:39: National outcry and Attorney General initiates appeal.
• 25:57: Olivia’s father on where the line should be drawn in youth sentencing.
• 28:39–29:24: Olivia on her future and wish to regain normalcy.

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Tone & Language

The episode maintains a sensitive, empathetic, and at times indignant tone, echoing the heartbreak, frustration, and anger of Olivia’s family, juxtaposed with the journalistic clarity of The Times’ correspondents.

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Conclusion

This episode presents a deeply affecting portrait of how severe sexual violence can irrevocably change a young life—and how the UK’s justice system is struggling to deliver what many see as real justice. It highlights the resilience of Olivia and her family, the failings of the current system, and the urgent national debate about youth crime, justice, and victim support.

Transcript

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[Manveen Rana]

From the Times and the Sunday Times, this is the story. I'm Manveen Rana.

[Olivia's Father]

I think for me, with what's happened, it is as good as a life sentence for my daughter and it will get easier with time, but it will never go away.

[Manveen Rana]

Those are the words of a father, the father of a teenage girl who we're calling Olivia. In January last year, when Olivia was just 14, she was attacked by three boys, two aged 14, one aged 13, near a recreation center in Fordingbridge in Hampshire. One of the boys raped her while the other two filmed the attack.

[Olivia's Father]

To have to watch your daughter go through what she has, to see her go from this bubbly, very outgoing girl to someone who's quite her confidence has gone.

[Manveen Rana]

Olivia wasn't the boy's first victim. Just two months earlier, the older boys had raped Another girl, aged 15, in an underpass in the same town. They'd filmed that, too. The three boys were convicted of a total of 10 rape charges related to the two attacks. But in the sentencing hearing, Judge Nicholas Rowland told the boys that none of them would be going to jail. The decision has sparked outrage across the nation.

[Olivia's Father]

Groundswell of anger over this case all the way from the courtroom to Westminster. All of the major political parties have condemned this decision.

[Jessica Sharkey]

They are criminals.

[Olivia]

There is no way that a youth

[Jessica Sharkey]

offending rehabilitation order isn't any way appropriate.

[Olivia's Father]

These girls deserve justice as to their families, both for them, but also for other girls that are put in that position. And quite frankly, other boys need to know that they can't behave in that

[Commercial Narrator (Aramco)]

way and get away with it.

[Manveen Rana]

The Prime Minister, Sakir Starmer, also waded in.

[Olivia's Father]

I think it's a really distressing case. I find it distressing as a politician, I find it distressing as a father.

[Manveen Rana]

On Tuesday, he announced that the sentence will now be reviewed.

[Olivia's Father]

I can announce that that case now will go to the Court of Appeal and that is clearly the right outcome.

[Manveen Rana]

Now, Olivia and her family have spoken to the Times about the trauma they've experienced and what they hope will happen next. We voiced up their words to protect their privacy.

[Olivia's Father]

I want to see the justice system do something that will impact them for life. There's got to be that balance where they are impacted forever. On this because she is.

[Manveen Rana]

The story today. One of the Fording Bridge victims speaks out.

[Jessica Sharkey]

I am Jessica Sharkey and I am the crime correspondent at the Times.

[Manveen Rana]

Jess, just describe the scene. Where did all of this play out?

[Jessica Sharkey]

So Fording Bridge, it's a small town, population of about 6,200 roughly in the New Forest district of Hampshire, a former market town. And the mother of one of the victims who I met today actually described it as a high street with a Tesco Express and a few cafes. And it's one of those small areas,

[Manveen Rana]

people know each other and what exactly happened? Just take us through the sequence of events there.

[Jessica Sharkey]

So the first offense happened in November 2024, and that involved a 15 year old girl who had met one of the older defendants. This is one of the boys who is 15 now. He was 14 at the time of the offense. She had met him on the social message inside Snapchat and had agreed to go meet him in Fordingbridge and traveled alone to meet him. They were later joined by another of the older defendants who was also 14 at the time.

[Manveen Rana]

As far as she's concerned, this is a first date, a first meetup with somebody she's met online.

[Jessica Sharkey]

They'd been chatting on Snapchat and he was known to her. And they were later joined by this other boy and taken to an underpass where she was raped by both boys. And less than two months later, these two same Boys as well as another boy, had come across a 14 year old girl who had become separated from her friends near a recreation center in Fordingbridge. The court heard during the trial that she was threatened with a knife by one of the defendants and told to leave her phone and this airtag tracking device which she had on her in a shop so her movements could not be tracked by her parents. She was then taken to a field near this recreation centre and the two older defendants, tuck it in, turns to assault her, while the younger boy, who was 13 at the time, he's now 14. He was convicted of rape by encouraging the second defendant and he also filmed it on his firm.

[Manveen Rana]

I mean, these are clearly horrific attacks on very young girls. Do we know after that first attack why nothing was done? Did people know about it?

[Jessica Sharkey]

So in January 2025, after that second offence, it was that girl who was found distressed after the incident and then later reported the incident to police. And it was that subsequent police investigation that identified the victim who was raped in November 2024 by two of the same defendants who had been involved in that later attack in January.

[Manveen Rana]

Right, so that first attack only came to light after this victim reported her case. You've actually been talking to her and her family. We're calling her Olivia for the purpose of this podcast and our coverage of the story. How did that come about?

[Jessica Sharkey]

So I reached out to her via the police who have been supporting her, and specifically the police and Crime Commissioner of Hampshire, who have been a great support for the families and the victims. And the Commissioner's office put me in touch with the family.

[Manveen Rana]

And where did you meet? What was that like?

[Jessica Sharkey]

We met in the lobby of a hotel in central London. They're very friendly and had driven down and were happy to chat about anything before we started. A bit nervous, but understandably so. You forget how young a 15 year old girl is. Olivia was fairly closed off at first. She enjoyed talking about jellycats and her GCSEs and school, but she didn't want to get into the details of what had happened to her. Can you speak a bit about what happened in that January?

[Olivia]

I don't really know how to explain that.

[Jessica Sharkey]

Would you describe it as a blur?

[Olivia]

Mostly, yeah.

[Manveen Rana]

And how is Olivia now? I mean, how much of an impact has all of this had on her and her family?

[Jessica Sharkey]

She told me she can't really go out because she fears that one day she might run into one of her attackers or see them. And that means she hasn't been able to see her friends as much she missed a lot of school, she told me, and she was worried about her exams because of that. Because of how the past almost 18 months has been.

[Olivia]

It just felt like I was being punished for something that wasn't my fault. Cause it just means I can't go out. I mean, I haven't been going to school, really. I've fallen quite far behind. Struggled with a lot of things because of it.

[Manveen Rana]

And it must have had an impact on the whole family, you know, particularly since this is such a small community. What did her parents say about how they've managed through all of this?

[Jessica Sharkey]

It has affected the whole family, too. Olivia's parents have had to watch as their daughter's personality change and how she has been dealing with what happened to her.

[Olivia's Father]

Obviously, for us to have to watch our daughter go through what she has, to see her go from this bubbly, very outgoing girl to someone who's quite. Her confidence has gone. She's gone in on herself. It's been. It. It's absolutely traumatic for us and it's really changed the family dynamic. Like she. Like she said, just going into the town, we don't take her in. We really don't want her going in on her own. So for us, it's everything that has happened to her, we've gone through very much, a lot of it ourselves as well. Yeah.

[Jessica Sharkey]

I guess it feels like she's a

[Olivia's Mother]

bit of a prisoner in her own home. She's being punished more than what they are.

[Jessica Sharkey]

And they even fought about moving because of it, to help her rebuild her life.

[Manveen Rana]

Because Fordingbridge is such a small place.

[Jessica Sharkey]

Yeah.

[Olivia's Mother]

We've even considered moving as a family out of Fordingbridge so she can have her life back. And so why should we have to move? She's not done anything wrong. It's them, really.

[Olivia's Father]

So we do our best to shield that everyone has been affected by it. Everyone sees the effect it has had on her. When you just suddenly go from a laughy, jokey situation, we're having fun and everything, to suddenly, her face will drop and, you know, her thoughts come into her head, her flashback's there. You just got to stop and deal with the situation.

[Jessica Sharkey]

Is that something you do, experience, flashbacks?

[Olivia]

Yeah, I have. It is hard when it happens because I don't know what to do with myself. It's especially hard when it happens at school as well because I can't bring myself to explain to anyone. And everyone just thinks, oh, she's walking off again, she's doing this again. No one really gets it.

[Manveen Rana]

How are they now, how do they

[Jessica Sharkey]

feel about it all still? It's unimaginable for them. They've had to stand by the rest of their family as well and have had to deal with this. And, yeah, they are angry at what happened.

[Olivia's Father]

They've put my daughter through this and there is nothing worse for her. She's. They've taken her innocence and as a father, there's so much anger there towards them.

[Manveen Rana]

Tell me about the trial. What was that like for them?

[Jessica Sharkey]

It was Southampton Crown Court. It was held and it was a long trial. It was five weeks before the conviction. How did you feel having to go through the trial afterwards?

[Olivia]

It was a lot like. It was really hard for me to get through.

[Jessica Sharkey]

Olivia gave evidence via video link and her father told me that he went in person to watch the trial as she gave her testimony. And he actually said there were some points. He really struggled to be there.

[Olivia's Father]

There were points. I had to leave the court because I literally. I just couldn't listen to her. I couldn't watch her break down via video link. And the boys were sat there with their barristers, completely emotionless.

[Jessica Sharkey]

Claire Wade Casey, for the defense during the trial suggested to the jury that Olivia made the allegations that the boys had raped her because she wanted attention from her mother and did not want to get in trouble for going missing. And that's something the family said they struggled to hear during the trial. How was that experience of listening to the defence barrister?

[Olivia's Mother]

I feel like she picked on my parenting. She made out we were a single family household, that I was on my own. It was all about me and how I was this awful person that wouldn't let Olivia do quite a lot.

[Olivia's Father]

She made out that she was a rebellious child because we're quite strict on things. So, yeah, she made out that she was rebelling because she couldn't have this. So she wanted attention and everything like that. And it's just like, well, you're just making excuses.

[Jessica Sharkey]

How did that make you feel?

[Olivia]

I got to a point where I pretty much shouted at her, you don't need to be bringing my family into this. This isn't about them. It's about what the boys did to me.

[Manveen Rana]

Coming up, the shocking sentence, news of an appeal and what comes next for Olivia and her family.

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[Olivia's Mother]

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[Manveen Rana]

Jessica, you were describing how hard the trial was for the whole family, but obviously particularly Olivia. Tell us about the verdict.

[Jessica Sharkey]

So following a five week trial at Southampton Crown Court, the three boys were convicted on March 5. So a few months back and there was an array of convictions. The first boy, who is 15 now, he was convicted of two counts of rape and one count of taking an indecent image and that relates to the filming of the attacks which took place. The second older defendant, who is also now 15, he was convicted of six counts of rape. Of the two girls he previously pleaded guilty to four counts of taking an indecent image. And that also again relates to the filming. The youngest defendant, who was 13 at the time of the offences, He's 14 now. He was convicted of two counts of rape in the second attack.

[Manveen Rana]

It was a horrific set of attacks and both the prime minister and the judge at the time praised the girls for their courage in coming forward and talking about it. The verdict came through which they must have felt pleased that there was a sense that justice was being done. But then came the sentencing. Tell us about that.

[Jessica Sharkey]

The sentencing has been met with this outcry that we've seen over the last few days since Thursday, and politicians of all parties have reacted. And the family told me about what it was like to read some of the judge's comments who praised the boys for their behavior during the trial. He said they had done very well to deal with the restrictions that had been put in place in the trial. And he said he wanted to avoid criminalizing these children. They were handed youth rehabilitation orders, which means they are non custodial sentences. And the boys, because of their age, they wouldn't have gone to a traditional prison. They would have served it in a youth offenders institution or a secure centre for children. But this means it is more focused on getting the boys help and assistance rather than time in custody.

[Manveen Rana]

How did Olivia and her family feel when they heard that was the sentence that had been handed down to the boys?

[Jessica Sharkey]

They all told me they were very disappointed and shocked by the sentences handed down. What was your initial reaction to hearing or reading what the judge said to the defendants?

[Olivia's Mother]

It was all about them. It was all about the boys. It wasn't about the girls. It was, well done, you've behaved in court. And then he touched on the girls at the end, rather than putting them first. It was all about what how well the boys had done in court. I think he handled it completely wrong

[Olivia's Father]

for the judge to come up with that and really make it about the boys, not the girls. It's just horrific. When we heard that, what sentences they were given, Very, very disappointed, obviously, in the judge, in the justice system. But we as parents do what we can to protect our children. When we get to the stage like this where you can't really protect them, you have to put your faith within the justice system to do the right thing. And they've just completely let us down.

[Jessica Sharkey]

What did you think when you read that or told that?

[Olivia]

I just kind of thought, well, why did I go through all of that for nothing to come about with it? Why'd I put myself through that much and just then have to deal with the rest of my life with them being free. It wasn't really fair. And then at the end, making excuses like, oh, the boy has a low iq, the boy has adhd. That doesn't affect. Doesn't give them the right to go and do this, because they think the excuse of their disabilities could get them out of it.

[Manveen Rana]

Jessica, you described the public outcry, the national outcry, really, since these sentences were handed down and that became public knowledge. Just describe what's happened since that moment.

[Jessica Sharkey]

So since that moment, and we've had a bank holiday in between. So the Attorney General said on Friday he was looking at the case. And on Tuesday, Lord Hermer, the Attorney General, said he had referred the sentences to the Court of Appeal under the unduly lenient sentence scheme. They had received multiple reports and reviews, requests for reviews over the sentences, and this was a very speedy response.

[Manveen Rana]

And the Prime Minister himself has waded in on all of this and has said that it's important that that appeal happens. How do the family feel about all of that?

[Jessica Sharkey]

The Prime Minister responded to the story over the weekend and since then it has had outcry from across. Across all political parties. And Olivia's father said that it has shown and caused it to move at this pace. And essentially they are just waiting now to see what happens in the Court of Appeal.

[Olivia's Father]

The public outcry. The support we've had through this has been amazing. It's helped process what can be done. What's the next step? I think we're all just very glad that it's moved at this pace now and that the decision has been made that this will go to a review. Obviously, the hope is now that the review will come out that they will get custodial sentences, but it's out of our hands now.

[Olivia's Mother]

And just touching on that, obviously they are going on the register, but only for two and a half years. I think it needs to be longer than that. Two and a half years is not really a lot.

[Olivia's Father]

Their lives just carry on. They can do as they please. And that's the bit we want to see make the difference, is for them to be punished for the rest of their lives.

[Jessica Sharkey]

Is a custodial sentence something that you are also hoping for to come out of the review?

[Olivia]

Hopefully, yeah.

[Manveen Rana]

And, Jessica, this comes at a time when there's already a wider discussion going on about young people in the justice system. Tell us a bit about that.

[Jessica Sharkey]

So this outcry, as you say, is following Proposals to overhaul the youth justice system, which have been set out by David Lammy, who is the Justice Secretary. And these proposals include a pledge to cut the number of children in custody by a fifth of the next three years. As part of these proposals, ministers are also going to carefully consider raising the age of criminal responsibility from 10, which is the lowest in Europe, to 14. And it's part of a wider youth justice reform, which has been set out in a white paper, which would also enforce stricter parental accountability, AKA giving judges powers to issue unlimited fines to parents if they fail to stop their children from repeatedly breaking the law. Olivia's father described this as madness.

[Olivia's Father]

I haven't overly thought about the wider aspect of it, to be honest. Our focus is on our daughter. Of course, education comes into this, but that also, that has to start with the parents. Obviously, there's a big thing in the minute about social media potentially banning it and all of that. It seems an easy fix, but that's not really educating them on it. There is a time and a place for rehabilitation all day long. I'm not against that at all. But when you have crimes of this nature, it's not a single event, it's not one count. We were at 10 or 11 counts here, plus the indecent photo charges and everything. The line has to be drawn whether they're children, teenagers. The line in the sand is when you have crime as serious as this, that has to be custodial, there has to be punishment. There's nothing to stop them starting their rehabilitation in custody, being educated in custody, so when they're released, they can then practice that in society.

[Manveen Rana]

Jessica, a lot of people hearing this podcast and who have followed this story will feel that this does seem to be another example of the British justice system really failing the victims of crime.

[Jessica Sharkey]

This is something we heard from Charlotte Proudman, who is a barrister who represents victims of sexual abuse. And she spoke to the BBC over the bank holiday weekend and said it showed that the criminal justice system was not fit for purpose and was protecting the future of bullies rather than the harm caused girls. That was her quote to the BBC this weekend, and that has been echoed across the political spectrum. Kebbi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, said she had been sickened by the punishment as well. And Dominic Grieve, who is a former Attorney General, he also told the BBC that the decision was certainly unusual, but also acknowledged that the judge would have had to consider a lot of Finns as well as the sentencing guidelines to. To give this sentence. So there's been A lot of reaction and a lot of discussion on this

[Manveen Rana]

and I suppose how it. How it reflects on the justice system. Stepping back from all of that for Olivia, you know, one of the very brave girls at the heart of this story, whose courage has been praised by everyone. How does she view the future now? What does she want for her life? What does she want to happen next?

[Jessica Sharkey]

Olivia is wanting to look forward in her life now, and I asked her this earlier today. How are you feeling about the future?

[Olivia]

Well, Obviously, with my GCSEs, I'm probably going to have to retake a few because of how much I've missed. And I might be starting college a year late, depending on what I get my grades as well. But I do want a future. It's just hard to see where I can end up if, like, I'm still worried about them. I want to be able to go out. I want to be able to see my friends, like, because I haven't been able to. Like, they'd invite me and I'd have to go, oh, I can't. Like, it'd just be nice to be able to properly go out with them.

[Manveen Rana]

Yeah. And start again.

[Olivia]

Yeah.

[Manveen Rana]

Those are the words of the young girl we're calling Olivia. Talking to the Times in an interview with a crime correspondent, Jessica Sharkey, who you also heard from. The producers today were Sophie McNulty, Harry Stott, and Michaela Arneson. The executive producer was Kate Lamball. Sound design and theme composition were by Malicetto. If you want to get in touch with us about this or any other story, do drop us a line to the [e-mail]. thanks for listening. We'll be back tomorrow.

[Jessica Sharkey]

SA.

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