Now Crown to appeal against ‘unduly lenient’ sentence for rape of girl, 13
THE Lord Advocate is to appeal against the ‘unduly lenient’ sentence of a man who escaped jail after raping a 13yearold girl.
Sean Hogg, 21, was sentenced to a community payback order after being convicted of attacking the girl on a number of occasions in Dalkeith Country Park, Midlothian, when he was 17.
Judge Lord Lake ordered Hogg to carry out 270 hours of unpaid work because sentencing guidelines for under25s mean offenders should only be jailed if no other punishment is appropriate.
Yesterday his victim, who had been left living in fear and suffering panic attacks, was given ‘some hope that justice will be done’ following the decision by Dorothy Bain, KC, that the Crown Office will appeal.
Speaking on the victim’s behalf, solicitor Aamer Anwar said: ‘We were advised that the Lord Advocate has decided that
‘Public were incredulous’
the Crown should appeal the sentence imposed upon Sean Hogg, convicted of rape, on the grounds that it is “unduly lenient”. My client is relieved and grateful to the Lord Advocate. ‘It has been nearly a month since Sean Hogg walked free from the High Court after being convicted of rape. ‘My client still does not understand why Hogg was allowed to get on with his life when he had ruined hers. She wonders how many girls will think there is no point in reporting rape after seeing a rapist walk free. ‘Whilst the police, prosecution and jury did its job, she feels that in the end she was failed by our justice system, but today once more she has some hope that justice will be done.’ Hogg, of Hamilton, was convicted of rape after a trial at the High Court in Glasgow. The judge said if he had been over 25 at the time he would have been jailed for four or five years. Instead, Hogg was ordered to do unpaid work, put under supervision and placed on the sex offenders’ register for three years.
Scottish Sentencing Council guidelines stating that ‘rehabilitation should be a primary consideration when sentencing a young person’ came into effect in January last year..
First Minister Humza Yousaf said rapists should be jailed but it was up to judges to decide ‘what the appropriate punishment is for an individual’.
Yesterday, Kenny Donnelly, deputy Crown agent at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, said: ‘The decision to place this matter before the appeal court has been communicated to the complainer through her representative.’
Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Jamie Greene said: ‘The public were incredulous that a child rapist could ever be handed anything other than a custodial prison sentence.’