Crown to appeal 'unduly lenient' sentence of rapist, Sean Hogg, spared jail over his age

The Crown is to appeal the sentence of a man spared jail after being convicted of raping a schoolgirl.

Sean Hogg, now 21, was found guilty of raping the 13-year-old in Dalkeith, Midlothian, when he was 17. 

There was outcry after his age was taken into account under new sentencing guidelines which give greater leniency to under-25s, and he was sentenced to 270 hours of unpaid work.

Now the Lord Advocate has determined that the Crown should appeal the sentence.

Kenny Donnelly, deputy crown agent for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, said: "Sentence is quite rightly the domain of the independent judiciary. However, the law provides for some limited circumstances in which prosecutors have the right to appeal against sentences.

"The Appeal Court has set a high test to be satisfied for this to happen. The sentence must be unduly lenient, which means that it must be outwith the range of sentences which the sentencing judge, taking account of all relevant factors, could reasonably have imposed.

"The question of Crown appeal against sentence in this case has been carefully considered and the decision to place this matter before the Appeal Court has been communicated to the complainer through her representative."

Hogg, from Hamilton in South Lanarkshire, was convicted in March after a High Court trial. Sentence was passed early this month and saw him placed under supervision and added to the sex offenders register for three years