After receiving 270 hours of unpaid labor, a guy who sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl in a park while he was a teenager was allowed to leave court.
Between March and June 2018, Sean Hogg, then 17 years old, committed a series of assaults at Scotland’s Midlothian Country Park.
Judge Lord Lake informed Hogg, who is now 21 years old, that he would not be imprisoned because he did not think it would “help to his rehabilitation.”
The sentence has been described as ‘worryingly lenient’ by the boss of Rape Crisis Scotland.
According to court papers, Hogg, of Hamilton in South Lanarkshire, threatened his victim and pulled down her clothing, before seizing her by the wrists and forcing her to commit a sex act.
He was found guilty by a jury at the High Court in Glasgow, and appeared for his sentencing yesterday.
Lord Lake said: ‘Rape is one of the most serious crimes and that is why it is tried at the High Court.
‘Looking at the circumstances, her age and vulnerabilities are aggravating factors. For the level of seriousness, I have to consider your liability and have regard to your age as a factor.
‘This offence, if committed by an adult over 25, you attract a sentence of four or five years.
‘I don’t consider that appropriate and don’t intend to send you to prison.
‘You are a first offender with no previous history of prison; you are 21 and were 17 at the time. Prison does not lead me to believe this will contribute to your rehabilitation.’
New guidelines for sentencing people under 25, making rehabilitation rather than punishment a primary consideration, were introduced in Scotland in January 2022.
Sandy Brindley, the chief executive of Rape Crisis Scotland, said: ‘This is an extremely serious case and we are shocked this perpetrator has not received a custodial sentence.
‘Given the gravity of this crime and the fact it was tried at the High Court, this sentence appears to us to be worryingly lenient.
‘Our thoughts are with the survivor of this crime. For survivors of any sexual violence, it can be very difficult to see reports of convicted perpetrators walking free from court.’
Leading Scottish advocate Tommy Ross KC told the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland radio show: ‘It is an extraordinary sentence.
‘I have been working in the high court for around 20 years and I have never seen anybody avoid prison for rape until yesterday.’
Hogg was also put under supervision and placed on the sex offenders register for three years.
A spokesman for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said: ‘As with all cases, the Crown will consider the sentence and give consideration to whether it might be unduly lenient.’
Donald Findlay KC, defending, told the sentencing that an appeal is planned.