China: 14-year-old sentenced to life in prison for raping and murdering classmate

A Chinese court has sentenced a 14-year-old boy to life in prison for raping and murdering a 15-year-old classmate, in a case that became a symbol of youth crime.The Qujing Intermediate People’s Court pronounced the defendant guilty of attempted rape of a classmate and sentenced him.According to China Daily, the court said that the incident occurred between the evening of July 6 and the early morning of July 7, 2025, when the teenager allegedly used violence to try to sexually assault the female victim.The boy strangled the victim in an apparent attempt to cover up the crime, the court said. He was 14 when the incident occurred.The court ruled that his actions amounted to rape and voluntary manslaughter, calling the case “extremely serious” due to the nature of the crime and its fatal consequences.The judges noted that the crimes deserved the harshest punishment, but said Chinese law prohibited the death penalty for offenders who were under 18 at the time. The 14-year-old boy was sentenced to life imprisonment.The hearing was attended by victims’ families, state lawmakers, political consultants and members of the media.