Nearly 50 suspected rapists are spared prosecution in Scottish courts under soft-touch ‘diversion’ scheme
- Diversion from prosecution means cases are sent to social workers or agencies
- Scottish Tory justice spokesman that said ‘Rape victims are being betrayed’
Scores of suspected rapists are being spared prosecution in Scotland under a controversial soft touch ‘diversion’ scheme.
Nearly 50 have dodged court appearances in favour of consultations with social workers and other lenient measures.
Prosecutors – who are reviewing the use of diversion for sex crimes – insist it can help offenders tackle the ‘underlying causes’ of their behaviour.
But last night there was fury that those accused of the most serious type of sex crime – which can lead to a life sentence – were not even being brought to trial.
Scottish Tory justice spokesman Russell Findlay said: ‘These shocking figures reveal an increasingly common practice of allowing accused rapists to dodge justice.
Scottish Conservative MSP Russell Findlay said that rape victims were being ‘betrayed by the SNP’s pitifully weak justice system’
‘Rape victims are being betrayed by the SNP’s pitifully weak justice system, which takes the side of criminals.
‘In the vast majority of these cases, the victims are women and girls who are fully entitled to proper justice.
‘No alleged rapist should be allowed to walk away with a slap on the wrist and the Lord Advocate’s review of this practice must be speedy and transparent.’
In an answer to a parliamentary question, Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain, KC, said there had been 48 cases since 2018 where alleged rapists were diverted from court.
Diversion from prosecution means cases are referred to social workers or another agency in order to try to address the underlying causes of the alleged offending and prevent further criminality.
It is often used in cases of offending by children or in circumstances involving learning disabilities. The figures show four of the 48 cases involved alleged perpetrators who were over 18.
The Mail understands the oldest suspected rapist to be ‘diverted’ from court was aged 29 and had learning difficulties.
In diverted cases, the prosecutor reserves the right to take action in future if the diversion is not seen as successful.
Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain, KC, said there had been 48 cases since 2018 where alleged rapists were diverted from court
Ms Bain last month ordered the review after voicing ‘deep concern’ over the impact of sex crime on victims.
But it later emerged diversion will continue to be used in some sexual offences cases while the review is ongoing.
Diversion has been used to ease pressure on Scotland’s creaking court system, but concern has grown about it being used in serious criminal cases.
Ms Bain’s action comes after teenager Kaitlyn Ward last month told of the trauma of seeing her alleged rapist being able to avoid a trial and conviction.
Rape Crisis Scotland said: ‘It’s concerning such a high number of cases have been diverted from the criminal justice system.
‘Diversion from prosecution is never appropriate for as serious an offence as rape. In all sentencing decisions, a sense of justice for the victim must never be lost. We really question where this sense of justice is in these decisions.’
The Lord Advocate said: ‘I have ordered a review of how prosecutors deal with diversion in cases of serious sexual offences such as rape.
‘The review is timely in ensuring we are continuing to consider the rights of both accused and complainers.’
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘We recognise the devastating impact of sexual crimes on victims. The Scottish Government is taking a wide range of steps to strengthen how victims and witnesses in sexual offence cases are supported and informed through the justice system.’
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