Family flays rapists' light sentences

London: The family of a 16-year-old girl who was gang-raped and then doused in caustic soda on Monday condemned the "lenient" jail sentences handed out to three of her attackers.

The men were jailed for between six and nine years for repeatedly raping the girl "who has a mental age of eight" after luring her into a disused flat in Tottenham.

They were among a gang of up to 10 who had hoped that the powerful corrosive would destroy evidence, said Met police officers.

As the girl writhed in agony, they poured water on her, intensifying the burning, and laughed as they filmed her suffering on mobile phones.

Rogel McMorris, 18, from Stockwell, was jailed for nine years for rape and grievous bodily harm. Jason Brew, 19, from Tottenham, was jailed for six years and Hector Muaimba, 20, of Walthamstow, was given eight years for rape and robbery.

Stephen Bigby, who was charged with rape, was stabbed to death in a gang fight in Oxford Street before he could face trial. The girl has been disfigured for life and faces further surgery and skin grafts, as well as undergoing counselling for nightmares and panic attacks.

She told how she was unable to forgive her attackers. In a statement she said: "I have tried to forgive them for what they have done, but it is so hard. I hope one day they will feel sorry for what they have done to me." Judge Shaun Lyons said the girl's life has been "ruined".

Speaking on behalf of the family, the teenager's uncle said: "The trauma, stress, depression and hopelessness have all been too difficult to bear.

"We know the sentence imposed on the perpetrators of this hideous crime against our daughter, whatever and however we feel about it, will not bring sufficient justice and healing to our daughter. However, our hope and trust is in God, on whose justice we can rely."

Lawyers have predicted the gang will serve only half of their sentences, minus the amount of time spent on remand.