Rape victims criticized the “insulting” decision not to jail a 21-year-old man who raped a 13-year-old girl. They argue that not putting Sean Hogg behind bars will discourage others from reporting similar incidents.
Hogg was found guilty of raping a vulnerable teenage girl at Dalkeith Country Park in Midlothian, however the judge deemed her too young to go to prison.
Guidance produced by the SNP’s Scottish Sentencing Council, which was set up in 2015, treats under-25 offenders more leniently than older offenders.
According to the guidance, Judge Lord Lake said the age of the rapist at the time of the sexual offense should be taken into account when sentencing.
Hogg, originally from Hamilton in Lanarkshire, received just 270 hours of unpaid work for raping the young woman. The sentence has been received with clamor.
He BBC reported that Denise Clair, who brought a civil case against footballers David Goodwillie and David Robertson and waived anonymity, called Hogg’s light punishment a “disgrace to the Scottish justice system” and argued it was “extremely discouraging” for the victims.
She said: “This is not justice.”
Ellie Wilson, a rape victim who also waived her anonymity, called the decision “absolutely appalling, an insult.”
She continued: “All it’s going to do is discourage victims and survivors from wanting to come forward.”
“I don’t see how it is appropriate to issue a community payment order for rape, there are some crimes, one of them is rape, that require an appropriate punishment, and that punishment can only be in prison.”
Literary icon and staunch feminist JK Rowling also criticized the ruling, tweeting that Hogg’s treatment suggests to young Scotsmen that their first rape is “free.”
Retweeting an article with the news of Hogg’s sentencing, he wrote: “Progressive Scotland 2023, where a man won’t go to jail for raping a 13-year-old girl in a park.
“Scottish young men are effectively told ‘the first time is free’.”
Prosecutors are weighing whether to challenge the sentence as “unduly lenient”.
The alleged brain immaturity is the reasoning behind the lighter sentences for offenders under the age of 25.
These guidelines were drawn up one year after Nicola Sturgeon became Prime Minister.
The new Prime Minister Humza Yousaf warned against intervention by political leaders in sentencing decisions.
He said he “understood” the concerns surrounding the case, but said he had to be “careful” in speaking out.