The Court of Appeal is hearing arguments over the sentencing of three teenage boys convicted of rape and other sexual offences connected to attacks in Fordingbridge, Hampshire. According to the reports, the case drew public attention after the boys were not jailed as severely as prosecutors and the victims’ families expected. The Daily Mail reports that the Court of Appeal is being asked to set aside or revise the original sentencing outcome. A key issue presented to the court is whether the judge who imposed the original sentence failed to fully reflect the seriousness of the offences and the impact on “vulnerable” girls, the accounts say. The arguments also focus on the appropriate level and type of punishment, with the submissions urging that the boys be re-sentenced and sent to detention rather than allowed to remain outside a custodial setting. The reports indicate that the hearing concerns legal review of sentencing rather than a new finding of guilt, and it will consider whether the original decision properly addressed the gravity of the attacks.