![Share](https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?s=100&p[title]=The Hampshire Rape Case 🪶 Notes And Corrections&p[summary]=Notes On Crime 🚔 Written by  David James Smith . Recommended by Christopher Owens . How "Notes on Crime" got mixed up with law...&p[url]=https://www.thepensivequill.com/2026/07/the-hampshire-rape-case-notes-and.html&p[images][0]=https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibgAkmVDzE88uk-K7wk0StOiIeSZSk4cqThNzVJx61liPZX7Wi83ZMnYritSjUIiwZPLPJSk91L_YhV9Of7kiNl28oFKxUVCt5e-qFzvSNkMCokB6HQbNoAMDE6jRQEocW4vIFgojECFj5B-yqsvELBW40Y_AuAR7ZQZwZTueP7-xwhmze34dlSkG2dO8/s1600/01%20Quill%20Hand.png){kind=link}
How "Notes on Crime" got mixed up with law and justice.
Although I have yet to be publicly acknowledged as the source, my reporting here in Notes on Crime was behind a significant intervention by Baroness Carr, the Lady Chief Justice, last week at the Court of Appeal - administering a rap across the knuckles of the Crown Prosecution Service that has left the CPS publicly embarrassed and at risk of further judicial retribution.
In my recent Notes on Crime article, “the misrepresentation of the Hampshire rape case” I examined the troubling errors made, both in the reporting of the case and in the resulting commentary fuelled by the public outcry over the decision of the trial judge at Southampton Crown Court, HHJ Rowland, not to send the three convicted boys to detention.
The article also drew public attention for the first time to the grievous factual mistakes in a CPS press release which was published online after the sentencing hearing on May 21st. The errors were still present in the press release when I published my “misrepresentations” article on June 9th.
Continue @ NOC.
How can the author continue to use “consent” and “consented” when any court in the land will tell you that consent cannot be given by under 16s? I get these are acts between teenagers but the law specifically states under 16s can’t consent to sexual activity.
ReplyDeleteGary Russell - To the best of my knowledge, whilst the UK does not have "Romeo and Juliet" exemptions, I think perhaps the author uses the words "consent", "consented" because the Crown Prosecution Service itself explicitly uses the word consent, and its various inflections, in its official prosecution guidelines relating directly to when all the involved parties are underage individuals.
DeleteI have not been following this case, nor am I familiar with the author. The prosecution guidelines may also have changed. If I am mistaken, I'm happy to stand corrected.
I asked the author of this piece and his reply is as follows:
Delete"It’s a good question - the law concedes consent when the children are same aged. The judge and the court of appeal adopted the same terms. So “any court in the land” will recognise it."
Christopher - Thank you for that, the update is appreciated, it's helpful to hear the position of the author. However, I think it could read as slightly misleading at a quick glance. I do not think that the law would ever concede consent even in these circumstances.
DeleteIf there is a belief that there is a genuine mutual cooperation between underage participants that are close in age, the CPS will evaluate whether prosecution is in the public interest. If it does go to court, then the sentencing guidelines also factor this in as a way to help decide how to approach sentencing. The law would remain absolute.
I think readers might infer what the author perhaps intends to mean, and I apologise if I am being overly pedantic, but I think in matters of law it's important to make the distinction.
It's a bit of a minefield:
Deletehttps://www.teenhealth.org.uk/health-topics/consent-and-the-law/
"The Sexual Offences Act 2003 recognises that young people under 16 may have consensual sex with partners of a similar age. The law does not seek to prosecute where this is the case, unless there is a risk of harm. However, the law acknowledges that this group of young people are still vulnerable, even when they do not view themselves as such."