'These two young people must be given every opportunity to put their lives in order,' said the judge.

Two Australian teenage girls, who stabbed and tortured a man they falsely believed was a rapist, have been set free after serving just a few months behind bars, ABC News Australia reports.

According to the source, the two teens, ages 15 and 17 at the time of the attack, had been smoking “ice,” another name for methamphetamine, when they decided that a man who lived in a nearby apartment was a rapist. It is unclear why the girls reached that conclusion, and the man has not been convicted of, or even accused of, any sexual crimes.

The girls forced their way into the man’s apartment and made him sit on his hands, while one of the girls smashed a table with an axe. The girls then tied the man’s hands behind his back while one of the girls stabbed him with a needle.

The man tried to run away, but the girls caught him and continued to torture him in gruesome ways; punching and kicking him, forcibly shaving him, and putting a blade to his throat, among other acts.

What’s more, one of the girls recorded video of the assault.

“The recording reveals that [one of the girls] told him that she was going to stab him,” Justice Michael Elkaim noted, adding that the man’s fear was evident in the video.

“I have no doubt that [the man] was terrified throughout his ordeal and will suffer the psychological consequences for some time,” the justice said.

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The girls pleaded guilty to charges of unlawfully confining the man.

The younger teenager, who had already spent several months behind bars, is known to have unspecified serious mental health issues. The older girl is pregnant; it remains unclear if she, too, had been behind bars prior to sentencing.

Elkaim sentenced both girls to nine months in prison, but then immediately suspended the sentences.

In the case of the younger girl, Elkaim cited his desire to see her get the mental health treatment she needs. As for the older girl, Elkaim wants to give her the opportunity to raise her baby in the best possible environment.

“The overwhelming reasons behind my approach are that these two young people must be given every opportunity to put their lives in order, to leave crime behind them and to live in society as decent and contributing members of society,” he said.

Both girls will remain on probation for 12 months, and will be free afterwards with good behavior.