Mother of stabbed Cirencester girl condemns non-custodial sentence for boy, 14

Mixed · 2The mother of a girl stabbed in a shop in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, on 15 March has said it is "disgraceful" that the 14-year-old boy who attacked her daughter was not jailed. 1 2 Centre · 1The boy, who is from Wiltshire and cannot be named for legal reasons, had stalked the girl after she refused to date him, according to the BBC, and attacked her with a 6in knife in daylight. 1 Left · 1Metro reports that he had become obsessed with her and sent messages from fake social media accounts after she rejected his advances, and that CCTV showed her running before he cornered and struck her; a shopkeeper who intervened was also hurt. 2

Mixed · 2Metro says the girl was stabbed 10 times and suffered cuts to her neck, hands and face and bruises on her back; the BBC describes a prolonged attack in which she was stabbed multiple times. 2 1 Mixed · 2The boy admitted wounding with intent, inflicting grievous bodily harm and possessing a bladed article in public, and was sentenced to a one-year referral order and a three-year restraining order. 1 2 Left · 1Judge Ian Lawrie, at Bristol crown court, called it a "very troubling event" but said the boy is "still young" and "capable of learning", according to Metro. 2

Centre · 1The mother said that without the shopkeeper and her daughter's quick reactions she "would have been dead", that the family felt "incredibly let down", and that someone big enough to commit an adult crime should receive the punishment regardless of age. 1 Centre · 1She rejected the sentencing guidelines' reasoning of "first offence and the injuries weren't life-threatening", saying the injuries were not life-threatening only because her daughter defended herself, and said: "I want some justice for my child - I want some protection." 1 Mixed · 2Det Supt Ian Fletcher likened the case to the TV drama Adolescence and said the girl was lucky not to have suffered very serious, if not fatal, injuries; he added that it is not currently classified as domestic abuse in law because both were under 16. 1 2

Centre · 1The Ministry of Justice said it had received "multiple requests" under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme but youth court sentences are not covered, so this one cannot be referred to the Court of Appeal; it said it is reviewing how the law can better protect victims in youth courts, and that sentences are set by independent judges and magistrates under guidelines. 1 Centre · 1Carole Gould, whose daughter Ellie was murdered in 2019, called the sentence "wrong, immoral, and unjust" and said it suggests violence against women and girls is not taken seriously. 1 Centre · 1In a statement read in court the girl described nightmares and, per Metro, feeling scared and nervous anywhere she goes; the Hollie Gazzard Trust advised that blocking an obsessed person can lose evidence and make them more likely to turn up in person. 1

Mixed · 2The outlets differ on details: the BBC gives the girl's age as 14, Metro says she was 13 at the time of the attack, and the BBC dates the sentence to last month while Metro says the boy admitted the charges in March. 1 2