Support group blasts judge’s shock ruling to let student walk free after he admitted raping 12-year-old girl in Edinburgh
Lady Scott told the High Court in Glasgow the victim was an 'active participant', meaning Daniel Cieslak did not even make the sex offenders register
A JUDGE who let a student walk free after he admitted raping a 12-year-old girl has been blasted by a victim support group.
Manager of Glasgow's Rape Crisis Centre Isabelle Kerr said she feared the decision was "victim blaming" and could potentially put women off reporting incidents of rape.
In a shock move of leniency, Lady Scott today handed Daniel Cieslak an absolute discharge, meaning he escaped further punishment, saying the 12-year-old was an "active participant".
Cieslak, of the capital’s Leith, will also avoid being on the sex offenders list.
The ruling came after the 21 year-old returned to the High Court in Glasgow, having earlier pled guilty to a rape charge.
It's going down the road of victim blaming
Ms Kerr blasted the galling decision, saying the treatment of the 12-year-old girl was "concerning".
She said: "The law really can't be any clearer. If someone is under the age of 16 they cannot give consent - therefore a 12-year old is not able to consent.
"It's a concern to be talking about someone of that age as an 'active participant'.
"It's going down the road of victim blaming, something we've been working to tackle.
"I would be concerned that young women might be deterred from reporting rape if they feel they are not going to be believed or not taken seriously.
"Our experience here working with police, as we do every day, is that when a report is made, it is taken seriously and victims are listened to."
Cieslak, a Napier University student had sex with the child in July 2015 after meeting her at a taxi queue in Edinburgh city centre.
He had believed she was 16, and later burst into tears when police revealed her true age.
Lady Scott today said she had decided “justice is best served” by taking the “wholly exceptional decision” to give Cieslak an absolute discharge.
She told the court the statutory rape offence had a “very wide scope” with, as a result, a “variation” in sentencing.
Lady Scott said the 12 year-old was also an “active participant” in sexual activity and that there was no suggestion of “predatory conduct” or grooming.
The judge concluded: “I am satisfied you have been subject to considerable pressure and distress from the burden of this prosecution.
“I do not consider there is any need – or public interest – in punishment.
“To do so would, in my view, be disproportionate given the nature of the criminal culpability here.”
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Scottish Conservative shadow justice secretary Douglas Ross said the ruling "could be seen as a blow".
He said: “Without knowing the full details of the case, it’s difficult to pass comment either way.
“However, this could be seen as a blow to those who campaign for tougher sentencing and better conviction rates surrounding sexual assault and rape, particularly where children are involved.
“Sexual intercourse with a minor is a serious offence, and it’s important that people don’t take from this sentence that it is being dealt with lightly by the courts.”
Since launch in 1976, Glasgow's Rape Crisis Centre (RCC) has helped women and girls who have been raped, sexually assaulted or sexually abused from their base on Bell Street.
They began receiving a few hundred calls per year - now, their demographic is 23% of the population of Scotland, supporting thousands of women in Glasgow, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire, East Dunbartonshire, West Dunbartonshire and Inverclyde.
Last year the RCC announced their services had expanded and specialised to meet the needs of women seeking asylum, who have been raped in their home countries or in transit to the UK, as well as providing support for women who have experience genital mutilation.
It came after it was revealed half of those prosecuted for rape or sexual assault crimes in Scotland had walked free.
Government figures showed the number of men convicted of rape or attempted rape had doubled in a decade.
But more than half of the 125 people prosecuted for the crimes in 2014-15 walked away from Scottish courts with not guilty or not proven verdicts.
In the same time period there were 1901 reports of rape and attempted rape.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article, you can call Rape Crisis Scotland's national helpline on 08088 01 03 02.
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