SENTENCING STATEMENTS

Upon sentencing, Lord Harrower made the following remarks:

"Liam Scott, you have been unanimously convicted of five charges of raping three women.  All the offences were carried out over a four-year period ending in 2019. 

I will not repeat in these brief sentencing remarks the details of the sexual abuse that you inflicted.  It is enough to highlight certain common themes.  The first is that the abuse was carried out against a background of intimidation and aggressive behaviour, punctuated by acts of physical violence.  Second, the intimidation and aggression would become worse following your consumption of drink or drugs.  And third, you consistently prioritised your own sexual gratification over any concern for the wellbeing of these women, whether that involved taking advantage of them when they were asleep, insisting on sex while they were in pain, or pestering them for sex when they were exhausted and unable to resist. 

Sentencing range

I must assess the seriousness of your offending by reference to culpability and harm, having regard to the relevant sentencing guidelines, including the guideline on sentencing for rape.  The rape guideline distinguishes between levels of culpability and harm, depending on the degree of seriousness involved.  In making this assessment, I will treat your offending against each woman as part of a single course of criminal conduct.

So far as culpability is concerned, having regard to the nature of the abuse, the lengthy period of time over which it took place, the number of victims, and the repeated acts of abuse against each of them, your offending is at the higher end of Level A. 

As for harm, I have taken account of the evidence given at trial as well as the victim impact statements that have been submitted.  These statements speak to the continuing trauma experienced by your victims long after their relationship with you ended.  I am satisfied that the total harm you inflicted is at the higher end of Level 2. 

The guidance recommends a sentencing range of 8 to 10 years’ custody for offending falling within Level A2.

Aggravating and mitigating factors

Next I must take account of the various aggravating and mitigating factors. 

The libel for the offence committed against the last of the three women contained the statutory aggravation that you were on bail at the time the offence was carried out, as well as the further statutory aggravation that she was your partner.  The legislation obliges me to attribute part of the sentence I impose to each of these aggravating factors. However, it is a feature of this case that all three women were your partners when you subjected them to sexual abuse, and your offending overall must be considered as having been significantly aggravated for that reason.

You have previous convictions, many of which have domestic aggravations, though I accept that none of them involve sexual offending or offending at a level of seriousness comparable to the offences for which I am sentencing you today.

You are 28 years’ old now, and although the guideline for sentencing young people does not apply, I take account of your relative youth at the time these offences took place.  Even at the end of the period with which we are concerned, you would still have been just 21.  However, I note with concern that you were convicted in 2023 for the offence of assault to injury committed against yet another woman who did not give evidence in this case.

I am grateful to the social worker who has provided me with a detailed and helpful pre-sentencing report, setting out details of your adverse childhood experiences.  I am satisfied that, while not excusing your behaviour, these experiences are likely to have impacted upon your emotional maturity and your ability to develop healthy intimate relationships.

Public protection

Although the social worker notes that you have engaged positively with intervention and show an increasing willingness to reflect on the factors that underpin your behaviour, she concludes that notwithstanding this progress, work remains outstanding.  Considering your categorical denial of any sexual offending, in my view, this represents a significant understatement. 

As the social worker herself notes, it also means that her assessment of risk is of limited utility.  Nevertheless, taking her assessment into account, together with the evidence as a whole, I am satisfied 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 a single sentence imposed in respect of all five offences.  It 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.

Sentence

Liam Scott, I sentence you to an extended sentence of 13 years comprising a period of imprisonment of 10 years, and an extension period of 3 years.  9 months of the custodial part will be attributable to the domestic abuse aggravation and a further 6 months to the bail aggravation.  The sentence will be backdated to 24 July 2026, when you were remanded in custody.

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 non-harassment orders, 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 complainers named in the charges on the indictment, those orders to subsist for an indefinite period."

16 September 2026