Three teenage boys convicted of the rape and serious sexual assault of girls as young as 14 were given rehabilitation orders and paid £26 in court fees, the Guardian has learned.

The three separate cases all took place over the past year in north-east England. They were tried under youth court rules that deal with suspects aged 17 or under and place a greater emphasis on rehabilitation than adult courts.

One victim, who was 15 when she was raped, said: “It feels like he just got away with it.” She said she was scared she would bump into her attacker, and that such sentences would give boys like him, who were a danger to women and girls, a sense of impunity.

One justice group said the fees of £26 were less than a parking fine. In one case, a boy avoided prison after he was found guilty of three attacks, including a rape.

There was public anger over a case in southern England last week in which three teenage boys were given youth rehabilitation orders after two were convicted of rape and one was convicted of involvement in the attacks. The victims were two girls aged 15 and 14, who were attacked in separate incidents in Fordingbridge, Hampshire.

Those sentences have been referred to the court of appeal by the attorney general, the government’s top law officer, for being unduly lenient. Keir Starmer described the case as “appalling”.

Youth courts are normally closed to the public. But specialist advisers to the young girls in the three newly revealed cases were so appalled by the sentences that they decided to expose the punishments being passed in youth courts for serious sexual offences.

In one case, a male aged 14 at the time of his offences was found guilty of raping a victim aged 16 or over in August 2023, as well as sexual assault by penetration in August 2023 and the sexual assault of a girl aged 15 in February 2023.

He was sentenced under youth court rules in a hearing at Teesside magistrates court on 4 December 2025 and given a youth rehabilitation order, and was placed on the sex offender register for 30 months.

In another case, a boy aged 15 was convicted of a serious sexual assault against a girl aged 14. He was found guilty of sexual assault by penetration in April 2024.

The boy was sentenced in July 2025 and placed on the sex offender register for 42 months, and given a youth rehabilitation order and a restraining order preventing him from approaching or contacting the victim.

In a third case, a 17-year-old male was sentenced in September 2025 after being convicted of the rape of a girl aged 15. He was given a youth rehabilitation order and was put on the sex offender register for 30 months. The convicted rapist turned 18 this month.

The sum of £26 is imposed as a surcharge on all youth defendants who receive a youth rehabilitation order, regardless of the offence committed and is used to fund victim services.

The victim in that case, now aged 16, told the Guardian her attacker should have been jailed. “I didn’t feel as though the punishment given was justice for me and what happened. He is still able to live his life normally and do what he wants,” she said. “This isn’t a deterrent for others. Boys think they can do what they want so they make bad choices and take bad actions.”

Explaining why she believed imprisonment was the right sentence, she said: “That way he would have time to reflect on what he did and it would mean this didn’t happen to anyone else because of him.”

She was 15 when attacked by the boy, whom she knew, and she said her rapist being freed by the court despite being convicted had added to her continuing trauma.

“I am worried about bumping into this person and I am worried for other people in case he does this again after no real consequence,” she said. “I don’t know where he is or what he is doing. I am constantly looking over my shoulder. I trust people less because of this.”

She added: “It would be good for the public to know the struggles with emotions this has caused and to understand the impacts on me as a young person.”

She said her attacker had made a choice to rape her and should be on the sex offender register for life, not 30 months.

These cases only came to light because official victim advocates from the Rape and Sexual Abuse Counselling Centre (RSACC) covering Darlington and County Durham, who attended court to support the victims, witnessed the sentences and were horrified.

They first raised concerns within the criminal justice system but said there had been little or no sign of action. They believe radical change is urgently needed.

Isabel Owens, the chief executive of RSACC, said: “It takes incredible bravery for a survivor of sexual violence to report what has happened to them. We are deeply concerned about the trend we are seeing towards more lenient consequences for young perpetrators’ actions and the impact this may have on behaviours and reporting rates in future.

“The survivors who have experienced these outcomes say they feel hopeless and worried for other young people who might fall victim to the crimes of individuals who are not being held meaningfully accountable. They are rightly questioning whether reporting to the police and enduring the process is worth it.”

Leonie Hodge, of Justice Is Now, which campaigns for survivors of sexual violence, said: “You would be charged more for a parking ticket than for rape. A £26 fee for rape is laughable and insulting to the public who put trust and faith and taxes into a system which is not protecting these girls. This is pure impunity for the attackers.

“Teenagers raping other teenagers should not become a socially accepted norm. We fear it is.”

Victims of sexual violence are granted lifelong anonymity by the law. Perpetrators convicted in youth courts also have anonymity, because of their young age.

The Ministry of Justice neither condemned nor justified the sentences, saying it did not comment on individual cases.

A spokesperson said: “Sentencing decisions are made by independent judges in line with sentencing guidelines. We are clear that punishments must fit the severity of the crime, and custody should always be considered for serious offences. This government is determined to do all we can to make sure victims have confidence they will get justice.”

Stephanie Roberts-Bibby, the chief executive of the Youth Justice Board, said: “It is also important that individual judges and frontline youth justice services are not unfairly critiqued for applying the legal framework and the evidence they are required to consider in such cases. Nevertheless, confidence in the justice system matters, particularly in cases involving violence against women and girls, and it is essential that public concern is not dismissed.

“The overwhelming majority of children do not commit offences of this seriousness. But where they do, the response must balance accountability, public protection, victim harm, deterrence and the long-term goal of preventing future violence.”