I'd have been breaking my heart if my rapist got off with just unpaid work

Brave survivor Roni blasts judge after 13-year-old's vile sex attacker is spared prison

- SARAH VESTY

A BRAVE rape survivor has spoken of her disgust after a sex beast who targeted a 13-year-old girl was spared a jail sentence due to his young age.

Roni Smith, who was attacked when she was just 16, is calling for mandatory jail time for people convicted of serious sexual assault after the shocking case of Sean Hogg.

The 21-year-old, from Hamilton, was 17 when he pounced on and raped his young victim at Dalkeith Country Park, Midlothian, in 2018.

Despite being found guilty, Hogg was allowed to walk free from the High Court in Glasgow after being ordered to perform 270 hours of unpaid work earlier this month. He was put under supervision and added to the sex offenders' register for three years.

Roni, from Kirkcaldy in Fife, has branded Hogg's sentence "disgusting" and said rapists should be punished properly, regardless of their age at the time of the offence.

Roni's own attacker was 18 when he raped her. He also raped another woman and was jailed for five and a half years in January.

Speaking to the Record, Roni, 18, said: "Sean Hogg's case has really sickened me.

"What kind of message does that send to young men? It's basically giving them the green light to do whatever they want because, if they're young enough, they could basically get away with it.