Boys lose appeal over sex attack
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Two brothers who tortured two young boys lost a challenge against their sentences today.
The duo, who were 10 and 11 at the time of the attack, were given indeterminate sentences for public protection in January with minimum terms of five years.
They were sentenced by a judge at Sheffield Crown Court for the "appalling and terrible" attack on the nine-year-old and 11-year-old boys in Edlington, near Doncaster, South Yorkshire, in April last year.
The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, sitting in London with Mr Justice David Clarke and Mr Justice Lloyd Jones, rejected their applications for permission to appeal. Lord Judge said they had committed "dreadful" crimes and that there was no possible grounds for criticising their sentences.
During the three-day sentencing exercise in January, Mr Justice Keith heard how the brothers, now aged 11 and 12, lured their victims to a secluded spot and subjected them to 90 minutes of violence and sexual humiliation.
The victims, who are uncle and nephew, were choked, hit with bricks, made to eat nettles, stripped and forced to sexually abuse each other. The brothers admitted causing their victims grievous bodily harm with intent.
Yesterday, ordering that the imposition of a five-year minimum sentence must also remain in place, Lord Judge said: "There is here a clear need that these two offenders should be punished for the crimes which they have committed. They knew precisely what they were doing and precisely why they were doing it. They were doing it for their own satisfaction."