Judge said custody was the 'last place' for 'bright lad' who stabbed a girl 10 times for rejecting him

A judge at Gloucester Crown Court spared the boy jail despite his pleading guilty to stabbing the girl at least 10 times with a six-inch kitchen knife in a Cirencester shop in March. Judge Ian Lawrie told the boy his "own view is custody is the last place you should be," calling him a "bright lad" and imposing a 12-month referral order and three-year restraining order instead. The girl's mother, whose identity is protected, said the sentence was "absolutely disgraceful" and demanded to know: "Does somebody actually have to die to get justice?" The Ministry of Justice said it is reviewing how the law can better protect victims in youth courts.

The boy had stalked the girl using fake social media accounts after she rejected him in December 2025, in a pattern police likened to adult domestic abuse cases.

The girl's victim impact statement said: 'I'm scared and nervous anywhere that I go — even if someone puts their hand up next to me I flinch.'

Parents of girls killed by ex-boyfriends called the non-custodial sentence 'appalling' and 'misogynistic,' with one calling it a pattern that demands urgent law changes.