Judge May Have Used 'Incorrect Legal Procedure' When Sentencing Dingwall Man
Appeal judges have ruled that a colleague used the incorrect legal procedure when sentencing a Dingwall man to life in jail.
Appeal judges have ruled that a colleague used the incorrect legal procedure when sentencing a Dingwall man to life in jail.
Lady Paton, Lady Dorrian and Lord Eassie concluded that Lord Uist was wrong to hand John MacIntosh, a discretionary life sentence last year.
The 47-year-old - who has previously served seven years for having sex with 13 and 14-year-old girls - was caged after appearing at the High Court in Aberdeen in August 2014.
He was convicted of attempting to rape a young girl and raping three women.
Judges - who were sitting at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh - ruled that Lord Uist should have used the Order for Lifelong Restriction (ORL) procedure when sentencing MacIntosh.
Now, the appeal judges have ordered social workers to carry out a risk assessment to see if MacIntosh meets the criteria for an OLR.
Such an order means that MacIntosh would only be released from custody when the parole board decides he no longer poses a threat to the community.
The offences heard at the High Court in Aberdeen happened in the Inverness and Dingwall areas between 1996 and 2004.
He sexually assaulted and attempted to rape the young girl and raped three women.
In his sentencing statement, Lord Uist said: "You targeted vulnerable females in order to gratify your carnal lust.
"You have called all these women liars and shown no remorse for what you did."
The judge added: "It is clear to me that you have no respect for women and are a sexual fiend."
Lord Uist said MacIntosh should not assume that he would be automatically released after having served 10 years in prison.
He said: "You will be released only when the Parole Board for Scotland is satisfied that it is no longer necessary for the protection of the public that you continue to be held in prison."
Police Scotland also welcomed the life sentence.
Detective Inspector Eddie Ross said the case was brought to the attention of police by the NHS.
At the time, DI Ross said: "During the investigation there was also significant involvement from the local authority in terms of housing and social work support for not only the victims but also their children.
"However, the most important people in all this are the victims and I must pay tribute to them in both coming forward to the police and staying with the prosecution process to conviction.
"I hope that this result will bring some comfort to the victims in this case and give confidence to anyone who has suffered similar experiences to come forward in the knowledge that their case will be sensitively and thoroughly investigated."
The appeal judges made their decision after being addressed by advocate Claire Mitchell.
Ms Mitchell argued that Lord Uist didn't follow the correct procedure when sentencing MacIntosh. She argued that the judge should have made use of the Order for Lifelong Restriction procedure.
Before a convicted person is given an OLR, the law requires specially trained social workers to carry out an assessment on what kind of threat they pose to the public.
If the social workers believe that the accused poses a serious risk to public safety, the authors of the report can recommend they be given an OLR.
If a judge considers agrees with the findings of the report, they can impose an OLR on an accused person.
The appeal judges continued the case against MacIntosh, originally of Dingwall, to a yet to be arranged date.