SENTENCING STATEMENTS
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HMA v Kieran Cole
Jun 20, 2025
On sentencing Lord Summers made the following remarks:
"Mr Cole was 20 years of age at sentencing and 18 when the offence was committed.
The jury convicted him of a charge of rape. This rape occurred in Waverley Park Bonnyrigg after Mr Cole and his victim had spent the evening with others in a nearby pub.
Mr Goddard KC make various representations to me in mitigation. I accepted that Mr Cole was young and that the Guidelines for sentencing young offenders applied.
Mr Goddard KC relied on evidence the jury heard at trial relating to the victim’s level of inebriation and capacity to consent. He submitted that evidence that showed she could communicate with him and impart information relative to a number of matters was relevant to the level of sentence. I took the view that this information went to the question of consent and did not have any relevance to sentence save that it demonstrated that aggravating factors that might otherwise have been present were absent.
After the rape Mr Cole ran off into the dark and left the victim alone in the Park. She was heard crying by a householder who came to her aid and assisted her home. I took the view that this conduct demonstrated a callous lack of concern for the victim. Mr Cole meanwhile returned to a friend’s house and in the company of another female returned to his flat in Gorebridge. His conduct showed he was oblivious to the gravity of his behaviour.
In recognition of his youth conscious at the same time of the gravity of his actions, I pronounced a sentence of 4 years imprisonment. I was persuaded by Mr Goddard KC that because of the fact he had no previous convictions that an extended sentence should not be pronounced.
This sentence will take effect from 27 May 2025. I was advised that Mr Cole has been on a tag and that the relevant time served of 412 days will in due course be taken into account in calculating the release date.
I put him on the sex offender register for an indefinite period, and pronounced a Non Harassment Order for an indefinite period."