Rape
Three teenagers are on trial following allegations they recorded the rape of two young girls while mocking their distress.

Authorities in Hampshire are currently scrutinising a series of deeply unsettling recordings that have surfaced online. The footage reportedly depicts a group of male students engaging in sexual misconduct while appearing to find the situation humorous. This ongoing police inquiry has sent shockwaves through the local community as investigators work to identify those involved.

Jurors were told how three teenagers filmed themselves laughing while they sexually assaulted girls in a well-to-do neighbourhood. At the time of the reported attacks in Fordingbridge, the boys were just 13 and 14 years old and allegedly used their own mobile phones to document the violence.

Filmed Assaults: Evidence Heard in Court

The group stands accused of violating two girls, aged 14 and 15, in a park and a subway over a period of two months. During the proceedings, the Crown argued that both victims were effectively cornered by their attackers. One teenager recalled being unable to escape, noting that the boys mocked her and recorded the ordeal as it happened.

The reported incidents occurred between November 2024 and January 2025 in the community bordering the New Forest. Now aged 14 and 15, the three youths appeared at Southampton Crown Court to face eight combined counts of rape, all of which they deny. Because of their ages, the law protects the identities of the accused boys and the two complainants, meaning they cannot be publicly identified.

The first incident involved two of the 14-year-old defendants and a third boy who is not currently facing trial. This group is said to have targeted the 14-year-old victim within a local underpass, according to a report by DailyMail.

'Petrified': Teenager's Account of Underpass Ordeal

After getting to know one of the boys on Snapchat, the girl went to meet him, believing they were in a relationship. While she initially consented to oral sex when they were alone, she told the court she became uneasy the moment two other boys arrived on the scene.

Evidence suggested the group took her to an underpass, where the atmosphere changed as two boys began to 'pressure' her. According to the prosecution, they pushed her to perform oral sex and then insisted on full intercourse.

Addressing the court, prosecutor Jodie Mittell KC highlighted how the 15-year-old girl was 'significantly outnumbered' by the three youths. In her police statement, the teenager spoke of being 'petrified' and feeling 'sick' as she grew desperate to find a way out of the ordeal.

Mittell KC detailed the girl's account to the police, noting that she felt it was 'the three boys against just her'. This sense of being 'petrified' led the girl to comply simply because she 'didn't know what would happen' if she resisted. The teenager described a state of sheer panic where she stopped listening to her attackers and desperately tried to find a way out, only to realise she was 'cornered and trapped' with no means of getting away.

In her testimony, the girl explained how she stayed quiet to hold back tears while her attackers laughed at her. This ordeal was captured on camera; police subsequently found several videos and images on a mobile device belonging to one of the youths, which showed the offences taking place.

The sound of the group 'laughing' is audible throughout the videos recovered by police. In one clip, the audio picks up one of the boys saying, 'Don't film it mush,' as the events were being documented.

The Knife Allegations: A Second Victim Speaks Out

During the second incident in January 2025, a 14-year-old girl was allegedly held against a wall and intimidated with a blade. She described being ordered to leave her phone and AirTag behind at the local Co-op before the three boys forced her to walk to Fordingbridge Recreation Ground.

The court was told that the girl made a desperate bid for freedom, but the group stopped her, threatening to 'kill her' if she made another move to run.

Following the incident, the teenager provided a statement to the police detailing the harassment she faced online. She explained that within days of the suspected attack, she was being blamed on social media and labelled a 'slag' because recordings of the ordeal in the field had been circulated.

Southampton Crown Court: Trial Enters New Phase

Mittell KC highlighted the distressing reality that the teenager faced public scrutiny before she had even finished giving her statement to the police. The prosecutor drew parallels between this and the previous case, noting that the girl had once again found herself 'outnumbered' by the group. She emphasised that despite being overwhelmed by the trio, the 14-year-old was consistent enough to make an 'almost immediate report of rape.'

The court heard from a witness who disputed the claim that the girl was abducted at knifepoint. As the case proceeds, two of the 15-year-olds have denied four counts of rape from the initial incident, with one also pleading not guilty to creating indecent images of a child. Both also face two additional rape charges linked to the second encounter. Meanwhile, the 14-year-old defendant denies two counts of rape regarding the events in the park. The trial is ongoing.

Originally published on IBTimes UK