SENTENCING STATEMENTS
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When deciding a sentence, a judge must deal with the offence that the offender has been convicted of, taking into account the unique circumstances of each particular case. The judge will carefully consider the facts that are presented to the Court by both the prosecution and by the defence.
For more information about how judges decide sentences; what sentences are available; and matters such as temporary release, see the independent Scottish Sentencing Council website.
Read more about victims of crime and sentencing.
HMA v Jarrid Duff
Aug 8, 2023
On sentencing, Lord Clark told Duff:
“Jarrid Duff, you pled guilty to two rapes of a 14 year-old, and abusive, threatening, and violent behaviour towards her.
Your conduct was appalling. The young girl had trusted you but you subjected her to a terrifying ordeal – violent rapes causing injury.
You set up the opportunity to carry out the acts and you controlled the event.
You did so while heavily under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
Given the nature and circumstances of the offence, what you did will have had a significant impact on the victim’s physical and psychological well-being, as the Victim Impact Statement makes clear.
I have had regard to the contents of the Criminal Justice Social Work Report (CJSWR) and I have also considered everything said on your behalf this morning by Mr Hillier. You know that what you did had a serious impact on this young girl’s life. You take full responsibility for your conduct and you express empathy and remorse. You recognise that you will live with this guilt and shame for the rest of your life.
The seriousness of the offence make a custodial sentence inevitable.
You have a number of previous convictions, several involving acts of violence and you have already been imprisoned on two occasions for assaults, including causing injury and permanent disfigurement.
After you pled guilty to the current offence, I advised you that you are subject to the notification requirements in terms of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. You will remain subject to those requirements for an indefinite period.
Having regard to what is said in the CJSWR about risk assessment, I consider that the period for which you would be subject to a licence is inadequate for the purpose of protecting the public from serious harm. I shall therefore impose on you an extended sentence, which is in two parts.
The first part is a period of imprisonment. If you had been convicted of this charge after a trial, I would have imposed an extended sentence of 13 years with a custodial part of 10 years.
However, you pled guilty to this crime at a very early stage, and the utilitarian value of that early plea means that the custodial part of your sentence requires to be discounted. But I will not give the full one-third reduction because this is a case where in my view there is unlikely to have been a substantive defence, the evidence was likely to be conclusive, and the need for public protection is a relevant point of the sentence.
The custodial part will be 7 years.
But that period of imprisonment is not the end of your sentence. The second part of your sentence will be served in the community. Following your release there will be an extension period of 3 years during which you will be subject to certain conditions set by the Scottish Ministers. Breach of those conditions or the commission of further offences may see you sent back to prison to complete the remainder of your sentence.
So I shall impose an extended sentence of 10 years, comprising 7 years in custody and an extension period of 3 years.
The sentence will be backdated to 16 January 2023, when you were first remanded in custody on this charge.”
8 August 2023