Queensland Attorney-General Kerry Shine said the government would appeal the sentences handed down against nine males who gang-raped a 10-year-old girl in 2005.

District Court Judge Sarah Bradley placed six of the offenders, who were less than 18-year-old at the time of the rape, on a-year probation and recorded no convictions against them. She approved suspended six-month prison sentences to the other 3 defendants, aged 17, 18 and 26.

Bradley motivated her decision by saying that the victim “was not forced and she probably agreed to have sex with all of you,” the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

"I am truly horrified by the circumstances of these offences. The law should be consistent in its application, whether it be in Aurukun or Clayfield," Mr. Shine told reporters in Brisbane.

He called an urgent meeting with the state’s director of public prosecutions to discuss over the sentences. Mr. Shine underlined the idea that no child under the age of 12 could consent to sex under Queensland law.

"It seems to me that the circumstances of the offense were quite horrific and it therefore leads me to believe that the sentence was extremely lenient and, to say the least, needs explanation," he said.

On the other hand, Premier Anna Bligh has ordered all Cape York sexual offence sentences to be reviewed, to ensure there was not a trend of leniency.

"The nature of the sentences in this case are so far from community expectations I have to say I am alarmed, and I am not prepared to just write this off as an unusual one-off case," she said.

Australia’s newly elected Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Monday he was “disgusted and appalled” over the case’s ruling.

The state officials will review all sex abuse verdicts in Aboriginal Queensland over the past two years.