Law chief asked to review Daniel case
BY DAVID CLEGG THE case of a pervert student who escaped punishment for sexually assaulting a six-yearold girl must be officially reviewed, the Tories demanded yesterday.
The party’s justice spokesman Liam Kerr has asked the Lord Advocate, James Wolffe QC, to order a review into the sentence of Christopher Daniel.
The 18-year-old was found guilty of numerous sexual assaults on the girl over a two-year period, starting when she was six and he was 15.
There was outrage over Sheriff Gerard Sinclair’s decision to give Daniel an absolute discharge – meaning he has no criminal conviction and is not on the sex offenders’ register.
The girl’s family have already written to Wolffe to ask that he reconsider the Crown Office’s decision to abandon an appeal against the sentence. They are set to meet prosecutors this week to discuss the case.
In his letter, Kerr asked Wolfe to order a review of the decision and reconsider an appeal.
The politician said: “This is such a concerning case that I am compelled to ask for further clarity on this issue.
“I have asked the Lord Advocate to provide further clarity on this disposal, consider a review in the public interest, and reconsider the Crown Office’s decision not to appeal the ruling.”