A teenage girl has told of her trauma after her alleged rapist was able to avoid justice under government-backed rules that give offenders an alternative to prosecution.
Kaitlyn Ward was just 14 when she was attacked near a golf club by the 16-year-old, who she did not know, and immediately reported it to police, enduring a full sexual assault examination and questioning by detectives.
But despite substantial evidence, Crown prosecutors enacted “diversion from prosecution” rules that allowed him to avoid a trial and possible criminal conviction report the Record.
READ NEXT - Netflix star spotted filming in Edinburgh Old Town leaving tourist puzzled
Kaitlyn, now 17, has waived her right to anonymity - with the support of her parents - demanding the rules are never used again for rape cases.
She said: “This has left me feeling like there isn’t a justice system at all. It was a complete kick in the teeth and made me think if a crime is going to happen to me again is there any point in reporting it?
“I lost nearly every single one of my friends because I had spoken up about it. Because it never went to court it made people think that it was a lie and it didn’t happen. They thought I had lied.
“They thought he was the victim rather than me. He got therapy and meetings with social services. That doesn’t seem like justice to me. This cannot happen to anyone else.”
It’s now the second known case of its kind after the Sunday Mail told last month how a 17-year-old rape victim’s alleged attacker was dealt with under the same rules. Kaitlyn said the attack - just before her 15th birthday - made her fear for her life and forced her to take weeks off school.
But two months later prosecutors dropped the bombshell that her alleged rapist would not face trial. The diversion rules are supposed to help prosecutors handle low-level offences committed by young people to avoid them going to jail.
But campaigners said sexual offences should never be eligible for diversion. Kaitlyn, from Alloa, had been out with friends when they met the boy and his pals and after getting separated from her friends he attacked her.
She said: “It was horrible. After it happened I thought ‘What else is he capable of?’. I didn’t know if I was going to get out of there alive.
“Him and some of his friends stole my phone and one of my friend’s phones and threw them into a river so I couldn’t phone the police or my mum.”
The tearful schoolgirl walked home and her mum immediately called police. She went through a full sexual assault forensic exam, HIV and sexual disease tests and repeated the account of what happened to detectives in several statements.
Kaitlyn said she did everything she could in the belief that her alleged attacker would be brought to court. Police sent a report to the Crown Office with evidence that the 16-year-old should be prosecuted for rape.
But the devastating news about the diversion decision came in a letter sent to her from Depute Emma Anderson, Senior Procurator Fiscal for High Court Sexual Offences.
It read: “I can confirm that a decision has been made to divert the accused away from a criminal prosecution...I appreciate that you are disappointed with this decision.
“I can advise firstly that following an assessment of all available evidence, we are satisfied that there is sufficient evidence to merit High Court proceedings against the accused. That is not to say that he would likely plead guilty; or that a jury would definitely convict him after trial, but those are matters for the future and outwith our control.
“As the accused is under 18 years old, we are obliged to consider all possible avenues available to us before commencing court proceedings.”
Kaitlyn is now determined to stop the same thing from happening to other rape survivors and is starting a law degree in September. We cannot name her attacker who is now 18 years old, for legal reasons.
Kaitlyn said: “I felt completely lost when they said he wasn’t being prosecuted. I didn’t know that was an option at all. I just couldn’t understand it.
“When they said he was being diverted I felt as if ‘am I the one who is in the wrong? Have I overreacted?’ because the justice system wasn’t reacting the way I expected they would have. They weren’t taking it seriously at all but it was serious to me.”
Kaitlyn’s mum Nicola, 40, wrote to the Procurator Fiscal to appeal the decision but was told that because action - through Diversion from Prosecution - was being taken, Kaitlyn was not entitled to appeal.
She said the decision was as brutal as the attack on her daughter. She said: “This boy has robbed my daughter of her virginity and the right to decide when her first sexual experience would be.
“Hearing the news that diversion was the choice with no punishment being considered for my daughter and her close family that felt as bad as the crime itself. We can not get this straight in our minds that the justice system would rather protect the interests of an accused rapist than that of the victim.”
The family came came forward after reading our report last month on how a 17-year-old girl reported an alleged rape only to be told her attacker would be diverted from prosecution too just weeks before he was due to appear in court.
The mum of the first victim said: “For this to happen to our family is bad enough but for it to happen to two is unforgivable. Whoever is making these decisions needs to stop and think about what they are doing and put an end to this right now.”
Rape Crisis Scotland Chief Executive Sandy Brindley said she would now be seeking an urgent meeting with the Crown Office. She said: “We are extremely concerned to hear of another rape case where diversion has been used. We will be seeking an urgent meeting to discuss the approach to these cases.
“Rape is a very serious crime and it is difficult to see any circumstances where diversion is appropriate. A focus on the rehabilitation of young offenders should not come at the expense of the justice and protection needs of the victim-survivor, who will often be a young person or child themselves.
“Our thoughts are with the young woman in this case, who has gone through the trauma of reporting only to be left feeling completely let down by the justice system. There is a real danger that cases like this could put young women off reporting rape.”
Sign up to Edinburgh Live newsletters for more headlines straight to your inbox
Scottish Labour MSP Monica Lennon said: “Rape is an abhorrent crime and those responsible must be brought to justice. It’s worrying, and it needs to be urgently reviewed.”
Scottish Conservative shadow justice secretary Russell Findlay MSP said: “It is an appalling example of the SNP’s soft-touch approach that favours offenders over victims even for the most serious crimes. It’s particularly astonishing that this can happen in cases involving serious violence against women.”
A Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) spokesman said: “The Procurator Fiscal received a report concerning a 16-year-old child in relation to an alleged incident on 14 November 2020 which, after full and careful consideration of all the facts and circumstances, was dealt with by way of a direct alternative to prosecution.
“Prosecutors deal with every case on its own individual facts and circumstances and will exercise their professional judgement in identifying what, if any, prosecutorial action is in the public interest.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We recognise the devastating impact of sexual crimes on victims, their families and wider society. The Scottish Government is unable to comment on decisions made by the Crown, as these are a matter for the Lord Advocate as independent prosecutor.
