SENTENCING STATEMENTS

On sentencing Lord Harrower made the following remarks in court:

"XY, you have been found guilty of raping your own daughter, over a period of about two months, when she was between 14 and 15 years of age. 

Your daughter grew up in Blackpool, not knowing her father.  At the age of about 12 she made contact with you for the first time.  Over the next two years, you were in regular contact with one another, by text and by telephone.  At this stage in her life, she was a vulnerable young girl, living with her grandmother.  When she was 14, she boarded a train bound for Glasgow, where she stayed with you. Having been reported missing, she was sent back home within a few days.  However, the very next day, encouraged by you, she returned to stay with you in your flat.  Within a couple of weeks, you started having sexual intercourse with her.   This would happen nearly every day even though your daughter repeatedly told you that she just wanted you to be her dad.  It should have been clear to you that all she craved was the natural love and affection that a parent gives to a child.  On one occasion, and this is the subject of a separate charge, you used force to rape her, anally.  Your offending only came to an end when you assaulted her in the street, causing members of the public to intervene.  For that offence, you received a four-month prison sentence.  While in custody, you maintained contact with your daughter, in breach of restrictions that had been placed upon you.

I must first assess the seriousness of your offending by reference to culpability and harm, taking account of the available sentencing guidelines.  Having regard to the rape sentencing guideline, in particular, I assess this case as falling within level A1. 

You are now 36 years’ old.  You have no history of sexual offending, but you do have a string of 17 adult convictions for 27 separate offences including violent offending, driving offences, breach of court disposals, possession of drugs and offences of dishonesty.  These include an extended sentence imposed in 2009 for robbery.  On a Crown motion, and after receiving a social work report, I asked for a risk assessment report to be prepared by an accredited risk assessor.    

That report being now available, I have to assess whether the risk criteria set out in section 210E of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 are met.  The risk criteria are:

“that the nature of, or the circumstances of the commission of the offence of which the convicted person has been found guilty either in themselves or as part of a pattern of behaviour are such as to demonstrate that there is a likelihood that he, if at liberty, will seriously endanger the lives, or physical or psychological well-being, of members of the public at large”. 

On the basis of all the material before me, I am not satisfied, on a balance of probabilities, that the risk criteria are met.  Your offending against your daughter, while extremely serious, represents a highly context-specific instance of sexual offending, which is uncharacteristic when viewed against the background of your violent offending more generally.  As the risk assessor herself noted, “[your] sexual violence reflects a deviation in [your] typical offending pattern”.  I have taken account of your threats of sexual violence when challenged, for example, by police officers, as well as the allegations of coercive control within a previous relationship.  However, I am not persuaded that the nature, or the circumstances of the commission of the offences of which you have been found guilty, themselves demonstrate a risk that you will endanger the lives or well-being of the public at large.   Nor am I persuaded that the offences, or the circumstances of their commission, form part of a pattern of behaviour demonstrating such a likelihood.  In short, the test for imposing an order for lifelong restriction is not satisfied.

I am quite satisfied, however, that the ordinary licence period will be inadequate to protect the public from serious harm caused by you, and that an extended sentence is required.  That sentence will be in two parts. The first part of the sentence is the period of imprisonment.  The second part is the extension part when you will be on licence and under supervision in the community. When you are serving the extended period in the community, you will be subject to licence conditions fixed by the Scottish Ministers. If during the extension period you fail to comply with the conditions of your licence, it may be revoked and you may be returned to custody for a further period in respect of this indictment.

In respect of both charges 1 and 2, in cumulo, I sentence you to an extended sentence of 18 years comprising a period of imprisonment of 12 years and an extension period of 6 years. The sentence is backdated to 5 March 2024, when you were remanded in custody.

In respect of both charges, you will remain subject to the notification provisions of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 for an indefinite period as that term is defined in the legislation.

I also make a non-harassment order, in terms of which you will not approach, contact, or attempt to approach or contact, in any way whatsoever, and either directly or indirectly, the complainer named in the charges on the indictment, that order to subsist for an indefinite period.