Exclusive:Dozens of rapists given community sentences or short prison spells in England and Wales - as Sean Hogg case shocks UK

Almost 100 convicted rapists got away with community sentences or less than the minimum recommended prison term of four years in England and Wales in the last year, exclusive analysis by NationalWorld has revealed. 

It comes following the news that 21-year-old Scottish man Sean Hogg was spared prison and instead ordered to complete 270 hours unpaid work after raping a 13-year-old girl in Midlothian, Scotland, in 2018, when he was 17. 

The sentence was branded ‘shocking’ by Rape Crisis Scotland and a “total insult” by the Scottish Conservatives, while Thomas Ross KC, a prominent Scottish criminal defence lawyer, labelled it “extraordinary”, telling BBC Radio Scotland: "I have been working in the high court for around 20 years and I have never seen anybody avoid prison for rape until yesterday [3 April]."

All eyes may be on Scotland in the wake of Hogg’s sentencing – and particularly following the introduction last year of new sentencing guidelines for offenders aged under 25, which emphasise the need for rehabilitation and state that, for under 18s, their best interests should be a “primary consideration” for judges. 

But the sentence handed down is far from extraordinary for the UK. Scottish government figures show that between 2016/17 and 2020/21, nine community payback orders were handed to people convicted of rape or attempted rape, accounting for about 2% of convictions. Only convictions where rape was the main offence are counted here – cases where for instance someone was convicted of rape and murder are not included. 

One in 20 rapists escaping prison

In England and Wales, where the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) maintains a far more extensive and detailed database of court outcomes, such lenient sentences are far more pervasive. 

Our analysis shows that 53 convicted rapists got away with less than four years jail time (the supposed minimum sentence, according to the Sentencing Council) in England and Wales in just one year – including 43 adults – while a further 44 walked free from court with either a suspended sentence, a community punishment, or no punishment at all. That is the equivalent of 5% of convictions not ending with a suspect behind bars – again only counting cases where rape was the most serious offence.

The figures are for 2021, the latest period with detailed sentencing data available. This includes the case of a man, aged between 18 and 20, who was given a suspended sentence after pleading guilty to raping a girl under the age of 13.

The maximum sentence in law for rape is life imprisonment, while guidelines for judges from the Sentencing Council for England and Wales set out a range of between four and 19 years behind bars for adult offenders, depending on the severity of the offence. The starting point for rapes with even the lowest level of harm to a victim and the lowest level of culpability for an offender should be five years custody, but a judge can then move up or down from that, within a range of four and seven years, when weighing up any aggravating or mitigating factors.  

Despite this, the MoJ figures show that two adult offenders aged 21 or over received a community sentence (which could include things such as unpaid work, curfews, or treatment or education programmes) for raping small children in 2021. Six young adults aged between 18 and 20 also received community sentences for the same offences, while one adult received a suspended sentence. An elderly man who raped a young girl got an absolute discharge, which is where the judge decides the experience of going to court was punishment enough. 

'Each case is specific'

Judges are legally required to follow sentencing guidelines unless they think it would be in the interests of justice not to do so. Having no previous convictions, showing remorse, or having a mental disorder or learning disability are some of the factors sentencing guidelines tell judges to consider when deciding whether to give a more lenient punishment. It is not known what factors may have applied in the cases in question. 

The Sentencing Council told NationalWorld that the reasons for going outside the guidelines will be specific to each particular case, and that judges must give their reasons for doing so in their sentencing remarks. 

A further 34 youth offenders – 30 of them aged 15 to 17 and four of them aged 12 to 14 – also got community sentences for rape or attempted rape offences. Sentencing guidelines for children and young people state custodial sentences should be a “last resort”, and that the welfare and rehabilitation of the youngster are key priorities – although this should not “undermine the fact the sentence should reflect the seriousness of the offence”.  

NationalWorld also analysed data on the sentences given to those who were sent to prison. We found that 53 rapists, including 43 adult and young adult offenders, received under four years in prison – despite four years being the lowest starting point in the sentencing guidelines.

Most prisoners in England and Wales are automatically released after serving half of their sentence. A rule change in April 2020 meant rapists sentenced from then on would have to serve two-thirds of their prison time – but only if they were given seven years or more. And in 2022 a new law was introduced which meant even more rapists would have to serve at least two-thirds – but this time only if they were sentenced to at least four years. 

Of the 897 rapists sentenced in 2021, the full list of outcomes was as follows:

• One absolute discharges
• 42 community sentences
• One suspended sentence
• 21 ‘otherwise dealt with’ – a broad category to capture cases that do not fall into the other main sentencing categories, and could include hospital orders, confiscation orders and compensation orders. We have not included these in our analysis, as it is unclear if the offenders were detained.
• 832 immediate custody, including 53 who got under four years 

Despite these more lenient sentences, the most common prison sentence was between 10 and 15 years (154 cases), followed by more than 15 years but less than life (104 cases). But at least 32% of offenders got under seven years in prison, and would not have been impacted by the 2020 rule change. A further 9% received between six and seven years, and may also not have been impacted. 

Who escaped without time in prison?

Below we have listed some of the rapists that escaped prison time in 2021, according to the MoJ data. Ages are as of the day sentence was passed.

• A man aged between 18 and 20 was given a suspended sentence after pleading guilty to rape of a female child aged under 13 in the Thames Valley Police area. 
• A man aged 70 or over received an absolute discharge in the South Wales area for raping a girl aged between 13 and 15. Suspended sentences mean an offender does not have to go to prison unless they commit another offence or breach certain requirements the judge imposes on them.
• A man aged between 25 and 29 was given a Community Order for raping a boy aged under 13 in the Suffolk police force area. 
• A man aged 21 to 24 and in the Derbyshire police force area was given a Community Order for raping a girl aged under 13. 
• Five men aged between 18 and 20 were given Community Orders for raping (four cases) or attempting to rape (one case) children aged under 13. The cases were in the West Midlands, London, West Yorkshire and Kent police force areas. 
• A man aged 18 to 20 in Merseyside given a Referral Order for raping a female child under the age of 13. Referral Orders should only be available for youth offenders. NationalWorld has asked the MoJ if this is an error. 
• 14 boys aged between 15 and 17 were given Youth Rehabilitation Orders (YRO) for raping (13 cases) or attempting to rape (one case) children aged under 13. These cases spanned Northamptonshire, West Mercia, Greater Manchester, London, Essex, Lancashire, South Wales, Sussex and Cleveland. A YRO is a community sentence similar to a Community Order.
• Six boys aged between 15 and 17 were given YROs for raping (five cases) or attempting to rape (one case) girls aged between 13 and 15. The cases were in the West Yorkshire,  Cheshire, Cleveland, Lancashire and West Midlands police force areas. 
• One boy aged between 15 and 17 in the Kent police force area was given a YRO for attempting to rape an adult woman aged 16 or over. 
• Eight boys aged between 15 and 17 were given Referral Orders for raping (seven cases) or attempting to rape (one case) children aged under 13. The cases were in the following police force areas: Northamptonshire, Cleveland, West Yorkshire, Norfolk, West Yorkshire, Dorset, London and Nottinghamshire. Referral Orders are a type of community sentence, and involve the offender having to appear before a local youth offender panel to discuss making amends to victims. 
• One London boy aged 15 to 17 given a Referral Order for raping a female child aged between 13 and 15. 

What were the shortest prison sentences?

Below we have also listed some of the most lenient sentences given to convicted rapists in 2021 – although there were many more who got prison spells under four years. 

• A man aged 18 to 20 in the North Yorkshire area was sentenced to a young offender institution for between 12 and 18 months for raping a woman aged 16 or over.
• A Dorset boy aged between 15 and 17 was given a Detention and Training Order of 12 months after raping a female child aged between 13 and 15. A Detention and Training Order is a custodial sentence in a young offender institution or secure training centre.
• A man aged between 18 and 20 was sentenced to between 12 and 18 months in a young offender institution for raping a female child aged between 13 and 15. The case was in the Cleveland police force area. 
• In North Yorkshire, a white man aged between 18 and 20 got between 12 and 18 months in a young offender institution for raping an adult woman aged over 16. 
• A man aged between 40 and 49 in South Wales was given an ‘extended determinate sentence’ with a prison sentence of between six and nine months for raping a boy aged under 13. An extended determinate sentence means an offender is not automatically released at half way, and can apply for parole at the two-thirds point. They then spend an extended time on licence.
• A man in the Northamptonshire police force area was given an extended determinate sentence, with a prison spell of between 18 months and two years for attempting to rape a girl aged between 13 and 15. 
• A man in the Avon and Somerset police force area aged 30 to 39 was convicted of raping a girl aged under 13 and given a prison sentence of between 18 months and two years. 
• A man aged 25 to 29 in Lancashire was given a prison sentence of between 18 months and two years after raping a female child aged under 13. 
• In Greater Manchester, a 21 to 24-year-old man was convicted of raping an adult woman and given an extended determinate sentence, with a custody spell of between 18 months and two years. 
• In Essex a man aged between 18 and 20 was convicted of raping a boy aged under 13 and given a Detention and Training Order of between 18 months and two years. Detention and Training Orders are only supposed to be used for youths aged under 18. 
• A man aged 18 to 20 was sentenced in the Lancashire area for raping a female child aged under 13, and given an extended determinate sentence with a prison spell of between 18 months and two years. 
• Two men aged between 18 and 20 got between 18 months and two years in a young offender institution for raping adult woman aged 16 or over. The cases were in Northamptonshire and Cambridgeshire. 
• Two boys aged between 15 and 17 in North Wales and Cumbria got sentences of between 18 months and two years Detention and Training Orders for raping adult women aged 16 or over. 
• A 15 to 17-year-old boy in Cumbria was given a custody spell of between 18 months and two years for raping an adult woman. 

If you are a rape survivor and have seen your attacker face a lenient sentence, we would like to hear from you. Contact [email protected].