Acid attack teenager freed five months into a 21-month sentence

A teenager who left a fellow schoolgirl permanently disfigured in an acid attack has been released after serving five months of a 21-month jail term.

Emily Bowen, 18, was jailed in August after being convicted of injuring Molly Young, then 17, with fluid containing sulphuric acid.

Bowen poured One Shot drain cleaner into a viola case after she had found out the girl had started dating a former boyfriend. The instrument was destroyed and Miss Young was severely injured when she pulled her viola case from a shelf and the acidic liquid poured from the case over her legs.

The victim was left “screaming in pain” as the acid drain cleaner burned her clothes and onto her skin during the incident in East Lothian.

The Scottish Prison Service has now written to Miss Young to tell the teenager that Bowen is being released early.

It is understood she has been given a home detention curfew imposing restrictions on her movements and that she will be living at her parents’ home in Haddington, East Lothian.

A source close to the victim’s family said: “She is still affected by what happened and hasn’t received any sort of apology from Bowen.

“The letter informing her of the release didn’t come as a surprise. The family had been warned Bowen would be released earlier than they would like.

“There’s been a rise in acid attacks and the soft sentence was difficult to accept.

“Bowen’s early release is hard to comprehend but there’s nothing anyone can do about it.”

Campaigners and politicians have condemned the decision.

Scottish Conservative justice secretary Liam Kerr said: “This was a horrible attack and it was only right that the perpetrator was put behind bars. But many Scots will be struggling to understand why she’s already out of jail.”

Justice campaigner Russell Findlay, who survived an acid attack in 2015, said: “In this case, such an early release is an outrage and my heart goes out to Molly, who has been badly let down by the justice system.

“While the abhorrent use of corrosive substances is on the rise, the authorities in Scotland seem to be utterly complacent.

“The public are sick of hearing about lengthy prison sentences which turn out to be lies.”

In August last year, Bowen appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, where Sheriff Michael O’grady, QC, described the acid attack as “utterly wicked”. 0 Emily Bowen, inset, who had put acid in the viola case of Molly Young, main image, had been sentenced to 21 months in prison