Mr Yousaf added: 'I can understand again why people are concerned about this particular case, but it's so important that the government doesn't intervene or interfere in decisions made by our judiciary. The First Minister said he 'understood' concerns, but said it was an 'exceptional case' and in the vast majority of cases where someone is convicted of rape, they end up with a custodial sentence. Again, that's a decision for the Crown to make, independent of government ministers.' And of course I've also read comment in the Press that the Crown will potentially be considering an appeal to that sentence. He said: 'That's got to be a decision that's for the courts. Humza Yousaf has said the First Minister should not intervene in sentencing decisions 'Young Scottish men are effectively being told "first time's free".' Rowling tweeted a news article on Hogg's sentence with the caption: 'Progressive Scotland 2023, where a man gets no jail time for raping a 13-year-old girl in a park. Rowling yesterday also hit out at the community sentence given to Hogg - saying young Scottish men are 'effectively being told "first time's free".' The recording proved crucial in the downfall of McFarlane, who was last year sentenced to five years in prison for two counts of rape and attempting to defeat the ends of justice. The callous sex offender was finally caught out in 2019, after Ms Wilson recorded a conversation where she asked McFarlane why he had lied about the crimes, prompting him to reply: 'We've already established that I have.' Ms Wilson was attacked by her 'remorseless' on-off boyfriend Daniel McFarlane between December 2017 and February 2018. 'I do not see how it is appropriate to hand down a community payback order for rape, there are some crimes - rape being one of them - which require adequate punishment, and that punishment can only be in prison.' 'All it is going to do is discourage victims and survivors from wanting to come forward,' Ms Wilson added. Sean Hogg, 21, was found guilty of raping a vulnerable teenager at Dalkeith Country Park in Midlothian Rape victim Ellie Wilson, who has previously waived her anonymity, described it as 'absolutely appalling, an insult'. She said the crime has the same devastating impact no matter the rapist's age, telling the BBC: 'This is not justice.' Rape victim Denise Clair, who brought a civil case against footballers David Goodwillie and David Robertson and has previously waived her anonymity, described Hogg's sentence as an 'embarrassment to the Scottish justice system' and said it was 'extremely deflating' for victims. Hogg, of Hamilton, Lanarkshire, walked free from court and will only have to carry out 270 hours of unpaid work - a sentence which has sparked outrage. Under guidance drawn up by the controversial Scottish Sentencing Council - set up by the SNP in 2015 - offenders under 25 are treated more leniently. Judge Lord Lake said the age of the rapist, 17 at the time of the attack, had to be taken into account when passing sentence. Sean Hogg, 21, was found guilty of raping a vulnerable teenager at Dalkeith Country Park in Midlothian, Scotland but was deemed too young to go to jail by a judge. Rape victims have condemned the 'insulting' decision not to jail a man who raped a 13-year-old girl, arguing it will discourage others from coming forward to report the crime.
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