A judge in Scotland ruled that a rapist who raped a 13-year-old girl in a park is “too young to be imprisoned”. The teenager was raped at the Dalkeith Country Park in Midlothian by Sean Hogg, who is now 21.

However, the court ruled that the sentencing process must take into account the defendant's age, which at the time was 17. Hence, Hogg will now require to labour 270 hours for free.

Politicians and nonprofit organisations in the country have since expressed their anger over the decision, with Sandy Brindley, CEO of Rape Crisis Scotland, describing the sentence as 'worryingly lenient'. Madhya Pradesh Shocker: Man Gets Life Imprisonment for Raping 1-Year-Old Girl in 2018.

People have expressed their anger over social media as they are shocked that the perpetrator has not received a custodial sentence in the extremely serious case.

Brindley described the sentence to be alarmingly lenient under the given seriousness of the offence and the fact that the High Court handled the case.

Our sympathies are with the crime victim who survived. It can be very upsetting for survivors of sexual assault to hear about convicted offenders leaving court free, she added.

The lack of a prison term in this case, according to Scottish Conservative justice spokesperson Jamie Greene, is a complete insult to the young victim. It once more demonstrates how misguided the SNP's sentencing standards actually are and how this limits judges' discretion, he continued. Kerala Nun Rape Case: Prosecution To Appeal Against Acquittal of Bishop Franco Mulakkal. 

Court records indicate that Hogg, a native of South Lanarkshire, assaulted the girl by yelling at her and yanking down her bottom garments. Then, after grabbing the girl by the arms, he raped her after forcing her to perform a sex act on him.

Hogg, who showed up in the dock in tears, was found guilty by a jurors at the High Court in Glasgow.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 04, 2023 06:46 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).