Rules that saw young sex offenders spared a prison sentence will remain in place because scrapping them would breach their human rights.
Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC announced a review of the rules for under-18s in sexual offences after we highlighted two horror cases involving girls aged 14 and 17.
But prosecutors now admit diversion from prosecution will remain as an option in any prosecution policy covering children accused of rape because of the UN Convention on Rights of the Child, which means offenders under 18 must be offered an alternative to criminal prosecution.
Conservative MSP Russell Findlay said: “Sex crime victims will despair at the outcome of this review as they rightly expect those who have attacked them to be put in the dock where there is sufficient evidence.
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