Teen victim of rapist who walked free from jail because of his age reveals her life has been 'ruined' | The Sun
THE teen victim of a rapist who dodged jail because of his age has said her life has been "ruined" by the sentence.
The girl said that she fears that other victims of rape will be put off reporting the crime if their attacker will be allowed to walk free because of how old they are.
Hogg, of Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, wept in the dock as he walked free with 270 hours’ unpaid work after being found guilty of repeated attacks on the child when she was 13 and he was 17.
But passing sentence at the High Court in Glasgow, Lord Lake told the predator he would have faced four or five years behind bars but for his age at the time.
Speaking to the Sunday Mail, the victim, from Midlothian, said: "Why was he allowed to get on with his life when he’s clearly ruined mine. Did the judge not bother reading the ordeal I had suffered?
“Now it makes me think why did I even bother reporting the rape in the first place.
"Nothing happened, and three years on sex offenders' register for a serial sex offender adds to the insult to the crime he did to me.
“Many girls will see what’s happened to me and think well why bother reporting rape, nothing will happen anyway.
"Is this the message we want to send out to girls, to children and women who are sexually assaulted and raped?”
We told how Hogg threatened the schoolgirl and pulled down her clothing.
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He also seized her wrists, forced her to carry out a sex act on him and raped her at Dalkeith Country Park in Midlothian in 2018.
After Hogg was spared jail, Edinburgh-based Ms Rowling, below, tweeted her disgust — sparking millions of comments and shares online.
She wrote: “Progressive Scotland 2023, where a man gets no jail time for raping a 13-year-old in a park.
“Young Scottish men are essentially being told ‘first time’s free’.”
The victim went on: "My anxiety went so bad, I felt I couldn’t breathe, in my head I thought he was going to come for me, he was going to want to hurt me."
After hearing the concerns from the victim, the Crown Office revealed that they would look at the advantages of appealing Hogg's sentence.
According to the Sunday Mail, the revelation came last night after being urged to do by the victim's lawyer, Aamer Anwar.
He wrote to Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC to stress her concerns and said the victim, now 18, was unsure if the conditions that ordered Hogg to stay away from her still stands.
The SNP Government last year handed down guidelines urging courts to a focus on rehabilitation instead of punishment for criminals under 25.
A Scottish Sentencing Council spokesman said: “Sentencing guidelines are just that — guidelines.
“Where appropriate a judge can decide not to follow a guideline, but must give their reasons.”
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As well as unpaid work, Hogg will be supervised and be on the sex offenders register for three years.
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