Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Sentence not enough
Charity hits out as convicted paedophile avoids a jail term
A L E ADING ch i ld ren’s charity has hit out at the se nte nce h a nded to a convicted paedophile.
Shaun Mawhinney sexually abused a child and exposed himself to another but was spared jail at Dundee Sheriff Court.
Keiran Watson, of Dundee charity Eighteen and Under, said: “At Eighteen And Under we were quite shocked and dismayed to read about Shaun Mawhinney not receiving a custodial sentence.
“I’m sure that given the recent Our Kids Need Justice campaign the Tele team is feeling similarly let down by our justice system.
“Over the years at Eighteen And Under we’ve heard various reasons as to why individual child abusers have not been given a sentence or why a case can’t be prosecuted but we were particularly outraged to read that in this case it is due to the perpetrator having had ‘(his) own difficulties in (his) life’.
“We are very concerned about the message this sends out to abusers, survivors and society in general.”
Mawhinney, of Hilltown, pleaded guilty on indictment to causing a child to engage in sexual activity at a caravan park in Angus on an occasion between August 24 2017 and August 9 last year by touching the child indecently and performing a sex act.
On an occasion between April 1 2015 and April 30 last year, Mawhinney exposed himself to a second child at a property in Dundee.
He was placed under supervision for three years and ordered to undertake the Tay Project, a rehabilitation scheme for sex offenders.
He was also ordered to carry out 230 hours of unpaid work and placed on the sex offenders register for three years.
During sentencing, Sheriff Lorna Drummond said: “From the reports I have read, it is quite clear to me that you have had your own difficulties in your life. Notwithstanding the seriousness of these offences, I can deal with them by way of a community disposal.”