Jeremy Clarkson has launched a furious attack on the judge who allowed three teenage rapists to avoid prison, calling the decision “beggars belief” and saying the offenders deserved life sentences.
In his latest column for The Sun, the Clarkson’s Farm presenter criticised the punishment given to three boys convicted of raping two teenage girls in Hampshire. He branded the offenders “scumbags” and accused Judge Nicholas Rowland of giving them little more than a “slap on the wrist”.
Under the headline “Rapists should do life,” Clarkson said he was stunned the teenagers avoided immediate custody.
“So let me see if I’ve got this straight,” he wrote. “In two separate incidents, three teenage boys took part in the rape of two girls – aged 14 and 15 – at knifepoint. They also filmed the attacks and uploaded the footage online.”
The case heard at Southampton Crown Court involved two girls who were raped in separate incidents in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, in November 2024 and January 2025, with video of the assaults later shared on the internet.
Clarkson said the victims had shown courage by going to police, adding that the existence of the footage meant there was no doubt about what had happened.
He then turned his criticism on Judge Rowland, who said he wanted to avoid unnecessarily “criminalising” the boys and focus on rehabilitation.
“The scumbags were found guilty and last week Judge Nicholas Rowland let them off with a slap on the wrist,” Clarkson wrote. “It beggars belief.”
He continued: “And so does his explanation. He said he wanted to avoid ‘criminalising the boys’. WHAT???? They did that to themselves when they raped those girls.”
During sentencing, the judge said he had to consider that the defendants were “not small adults” and assess their likelihood of reoffending. He also noted that peer pressure played a significant role in the crimes. Two of the boys had ADHD diagnoses, while the youngest was described as having mild cognitive impairment.
Clarkson later welcomed the decision to refer the case to the Court of Appeal, saying the sentences should be reviewed.
“Let’s hope they all get life,” he wrote, adding: “In that prison in El Salvador.”
He ended with a final swipe at the judge, saying: “Let’s also hope that the lily-livered judge who let them off is sent to a secure institution for the mentally unstable.”
The sentences are now set to be reviewed by the Court of Appeal following public backlash over the ruling.
