A 27-year-old man from Lanarkshire was recently spared a jail sentence for an attack on a 13-year-old schoolgirl, sparking outrage from the local community and beyond. The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found guilty of assaulting the young girl and attempting to drag her into his car. Despite the severity of the crime, the judge ruled that a community payback order and supervision requirement would be more appropriate than jail time. This decision has since been met with widespread criticism and calls for the justice system to take crimes against children more seriously.
Scotland has introduced guidelines for sentencing under-25s which aim to focus on rehabilitation rather than punishment, in a bid to reduce reoffending rates. However, critics have branded the new guidelines as “misguided” and “dangerous”. A recent case in Glasgow has fuelled the debate, with a rape crisis charity stating that it is “shocked” a young man was spared jail for raping a 13-year-old girl, calling the sentence “worryingly lenient”.
The perpetrator, Sean Hogg, attacked the schoolgirl at Dalkeith Country Park in Midlothian on several occasions between March and June 2018 when he was 17. In April 2023, Hogg, now 21 and from Hamilton in South Lanarkshire, was given a community payback order with 270 hours of unpaid work at the High Court in Glasgow. Additionally, he was added to the sex offenders’ register and placed under supervision for three years after being found guilty by a jury.
Sandy Brindley, the Chief Executive of Rape Crisis Scotland, said, “this is an extremely serious case, and we are shocked this perpetrator has not received a custodial sentence… our thoughts are with the survivor of this crime. For survivors of any sexual violence, it can be very difficult to see reports of convicted perpetrators walking free from court.”
The Scottish Sentencing Council began recommending a more “individualistic approach” and considering the perpetrator’s experiences during the sentencing process, which is expected to reduce reoffending rates in younger people. The changes took effect in January 2022 however, these guidelines were challenged after Hogg’s sentence was deemed too lenient, and thus intensified the criticism surrounding the new guidelines.
During Hogg’s sentencing, Judge Lord Lake stated that rape was one of the “most serious crimes” and that the consequences of Hogg’s actions would be “long-lasting” for the victim. Expanding, he noted that he had considered the guidelines and concluded that imprisonment would not contribute to Hogg’s rehabilitation. He also added that as a 21 year-old, first-time offender with no previous history of imprisonment and a crime committed at the age of 17, he was not to be imprisoned, even though the length of imprisonment for the crime committed by an adult over 25 is usually four to five years.
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service are reportedly considering whether to take action, and the Scottish Conservatives have written to new Justice Secretary, Angela Constance, asking for a review of the guidelines. Shadow justice secretary, Jamie Greene MSP, stated that “the public are understandably furious about this rapist avoiding a prison sentence after repeatedly attacking a teenage girl” and claimed that “the so-called punishment of a community payback order is a total insult to the victim… We must stop wrapping dangerous adult criminals in cotton wool.”
The verdict has triggered concerns on social media regarding the protection of the victims and the effectiveness of Scotland’s justice system, in line with the new guidelines. Telephone helplines for rape crisis and Samaritans have been shared in the news article for individuals looking for additional support.
