SENTENCING STATEMENTS

On sentencing, Lord Scott said:

“You have been found guilty of a significant course of serious child sexual abuse involving 2 charges and have pled guilty to another charge.

Charge 6 involved digital penetration of a 14 year old girl when you were 42 years old.  Charges 2 and 5 involved the serious sexual abuse and rape of another girl, over a period of almost 7 years when she was aged between 7 and 13 years of age and you were aged between 32 and 39 years old.

The complainer in charges 2 and 5 gave evidence so I was able to see her for myself.  In her evidence, she explained some of the serious and continuing consequences for her of what you did.  You bribed, threatened and manipulated her into allowing you to obtain sexual gratification and to keep your shameful behaviour a secret.  Using your position, you put responsibility for your shameful conduct on her.  You made her feel guilty.  What you did was carefully planned and executed so as to ensure you could continue the abuse with impunity.  It was a gross abuse of trust, sexually exploiting a vulnerable child.  This is a classic example of grooming, with your child victim eventually thinking that she ‘didn’t mind’ some of your appalling and criminal behaviour.

There is a victim impact statement from this complainer.  She describes the continuing serious impact on her daily life and mental health.

She has feelings of disgust despite none of this being her fault.  She struggles to trust people and has difficulty in social interactions, especially with older men.  It affects her relationship and causes her to freeze when she gets flashbacks to aspects of the lengthy abuse she suffered at your hands.

In any event, it is well known that the consequences of rape and sexual abuse for victims or survivors can be significant and lifelong.

You have no previous convictions and have not previously been sentenced to imprisonment, so, before passing sentence, I asked for a justice social work report.

I note that you maintained in interview with the author of the report that you are innocent of charges 2 and 5.  Indeed, you seem to view yourself as a victim of the complainer who, you say, has ‘ripped your world and family apart’.  Be in no doubt, the jury concluded that she was the victim and you her abuser.  You are no victim.  If your life and family have been ripped apart, it is you who is responsible.

The report says:

'It is the author’s view that the offences committed against [the complainer] reflect a desire for sexual gratification on Mr Paton’s part and clearly reflect a very significant breach of trust and abuse of power.  These offences would have involved a significant level of planning by Mr Paton with a view to remaining undetected...’

The report explains various consequences for you of these charges and your conviction.  I note that you were diagnosed for a period as suffering from acute stress disorder and that you have suffered with anxiety and depression and received a prescription of anti-depressants.

The risk assessment states:

‘The index offences are of a most serious nature involving the sexual abuse of two female children. It is acknowledged that sexual abuse of this nature will likely cause psychological harm far beyond any immediate physical harm impacted.’

And, as to likelihood it states:

‘Clearly, the nature of the index offences, indicates the potential to cause significant sexual harm, likely against known female children.’

In view of the level of planning and duration and extent of abuse using a position of trust, the risk you pose might be thought to be more than merely ‘potential’.

The author of the report suggests that you would benefit from the Moving Forward 2 Change Programme to address the risk of sexual re-offending.  Such work could usefully start around your acknowledgement of guilt on charge 6.

In evidence and in the report, you have failed to acknowledge your most serious behaviour in any meaningful way.  You have shown not a shred of genuine remorse.  You have displayed no insight into how or why you behaved as you did.  You have shown no victim empathy.

Even in relation to charge 6, you belatedly accepted responsibility only for what you could not successfully have denied.  You display no insight as regards that behaviour, with a faint suggestion that the consumption of drink and cocaine is somehow to blame.  For the avoidance of doubt, the consumption of drink and drugs offers you no excuse or justification for what you did.  Your sexually abusive conduct towards a child on that occasion sheds additional light, however, on your entrenched behaviour towards the other complainer which ended some 3 years earlier.

You have minimised, denied and lied.  I must therefore proceed to sentence on the basis that you are almost wholly unrepentant and lacking in any insight into either your behaviour or the considerable damage that you have caused to two vulnerable children.

You are 44 years old.  You have no previous convictions.

Thoughts of serious risk of harm to the public are prompted by the terms of the indictment and are not excluded by the risk assessment in the JSWR although, unhelpfully, there is no explicit statement in the report as to the level of risk you pose.  Your serious sexual offending is long-standing and entrenched and, in the absence of meaningful insight or acknowledgement, likely to remain so.

I have considered what has been said today on your behalf by Mr Paterson.  He has highlighted matters addressed more fully in the JSWR and emphasised your lack of previous convictions, good employment history and the continuing support of your family.

Having regard to the whole circumstances of the case, only a custodial sentence is appropriate.  It is necessary to punish you and to seek to deter you and others from behaving in this way and to protect the public from you.

Having reflected carefully on all of the circumstances, in particular the combination of serious charges, the established and entrenched behaviour and the insights in the justice social work report, I wondered if the normal period of licence would be enough to protect the public from serious harm from you which would involve the imposition of an extended sentence.  In view of the terms of the risk assessment, I am not, however, persuaded that it is appropriate to do so.

Each of charges 2 and 5 is extremely serious, carrying a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.  Charge 6 carries a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment.

In the circumstances, I impose the following sentences:

On charges 2 and 5, taken together, I will sentence you to a cumulo sentence, that is a sentence which covers both of those charges which were part of a single course of serious sexual conduct on your part.  Charge 6 involved entirely separate decisions on your part and I will sentence it separately.  It was serious but not as serious as the other charges and the maximum sentence on charge 6 means that I cannot impose the same length of sentence as on charges 2 and 5 on a cumulo basis.

Had I been sentencing charges 2 and 5 separately, I would have imposed terms of imprisonment of 10 years on charge 2 and 9 years on charge 5.  Ordering these sentences to be served consecutively, resulting in a total custodial term of 19 years, would result in a sentence which is excessive.  In any event, charges 2 and 5 involve a single course of behaviour separated into 2 charges due only to the complainer turning 13.

Having regard to the principle of totality and the need to avoid the imposition of an excessive sentence, the custodial sentence I impose will be as follows:

On charges 2 and 5 taken together, I impose a cumulo sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, that is a single sentence to reflect the entire course of the abuse.  On charge 6, committed 3 years after the abuse in the other charges, I impose a sentence of 2 years’ imprisonment.  I have reduced that sentence by 1 year to take account of the principle of totality.  That sentence will, however, be served consecutively to the sentence on charges 2 and 5.  This means that the sentence I impose today is a sentence of 12 years’ imprisonment.

The sentence will date from 11 April 2025.

As a consequence of this sentence, you will be subject to notification requirements indefinitely.

In addition, I must consider whether to make a non‑harassment order in relation to the two victims.  I will make such an order. The order will be for an indeterminate period and will commence today.”