'I couldn't breathe' says teen victim when her rapist was spared jail
A teenager who was forced to watch her rapist walk free from court has said she “couldn’t breathe” when she heard his sentence.
Sean Hogg, 21, avoided jail earlier this month when he was sentenced to 270 hours of unpaid work after being found guilty of raping the girl in a park when she was 13.
Hogg, who was 17 at the time of the offence, pounced on the girl at Dalkeith Country Park in Midlothian on various occasions between March and June 2018, the court heard.
He threatened her and pulled down her clothing, seized her by the wrists and caused her to carry out a sex act on him. Evil Hogg went on to push his victim’s head down and raped her, the Sunday Mail reports.
His sentence of unpaid work sparked outrage and calls to review sentencing guidelines which advises custodial sentences should be imposed only on those under the age of 25 if no other sentence is appropriate.
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Pictured is rape victim of Sean Hogg in Dalkeith Country park overlooking where crime took place (DAILY RECORD)The teenager, now 18, told the Sunday Mail when she heard his sentence: “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.
“I was back to being that 13-year-old wee girl, scared of the unknown.”
She questioned why he was able to walk out of court and said her life has been “ruined”.
“Now it makes me think why did I even bother reporting the rape in the first place,” she added.
“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?”
The rape victim of Sean Hogg pictured with Grandparents (DAILY RECORD)Her lawyer, Aamer Anwar, tweeted: “My client and her family believe a failure to appeal 270 hours community service sentence for her rape by Sean Hogg would be a serious breach of justice by Crown Office.”
A spokesperson for Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service told reporters: “The Crown is currently considering whether there are grounds for lodging an appeal against this sentence.”
They’ve been urged to consider the merits of appealing the sentence by the teenager’s lawyer, Aamer Anwar, who has now written to Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC and said the victim remains unsure if conditions ordering Hogg not to go near her are still in place.
The teen added: “I am the victim of Sean Hogg and I am a victim of the justice system. Why did this person walk out of court a free man? My life has been ruined.”
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The cowardly rapist cried in the dock at the High Court in Glasgow earlier this month when he appeared for sentencing after being found guilty by a jury.
Judge Lord Lake pointed to new guidelines which state rehabilitation rather than a punishment should be the primary consideration for those under the age of 25.
He admitted that if Hogg, from Hamilton, had been over that age he would have received a jail sentence of four or five years.
But instead he handed him 270 hours of unpaid work and put him on the sex offenders' register for three years.
Judge Lord Lake said in court: “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.”
The victim, from Midlothian, now aged 18, added: “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.
“I see the people all around the world are talking about this, it was even in the Washington Times, with the people of America asking what’s going on in that country.
And in an interview, First Minister Humza Yousafa accepted the “astonishment” over the case but insisted he couldn’t do anything about it.
The young woman said the lack of a proper sentencing has set back her recovery from self-harming, anxiety and nightmares which began after the attack took place.
She added: “You let him go but gave me the victim a life sentence. What am I supposed to do now? Live my life as if nothing happened?”
The Crown has 30 days from the April 3 sentencing to submit an appeal which will only succeed if it’s deemed to be unduly lenient.
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