Planet Pluto
Scotland's criminal justice system is a laughing stock once again as some drug addled fool manages to escape punishment by successfully arguing that he was on 'Planet Pluto' at the time of his offences.
No one forced the drugs down this idiot's neck, so why should the fact that he was out of his head - have any bearing on the outcome of his case?
It's bit like blaming a pub or its bar staff for allowing some to get drunk, climb into a car and then cause an accident - which they turn round and say is not their fault, but the fault of the person who supplied the alcohol.
The following report from the Daily Record sets out the background to a disturbing case.
The following report from the Daily Record sets out the background to a disturbing case.
HIS victim, who says she will never recover from the assault, can't believe the jury's not proven verdict despite confession by Sean Devenney.
Devenney walked free
A TRAUMATISED teenager has hit out after a man who admitted sexually assaulting her at T in the Park was cleared – because he had taken too many drugs.
Sophie – not her real name – said she will never recover from the attack by Sean Devenney, who has walked free after telling a court he was on “planet Pluto” at the time.
He dragged Sophie around a field at the T in the Park campsite, before forcing her into the tent she was camping in and sexually assaulting her and another girl.
A third victim was assaulted with intent to rape. A fourth girl witnessed him carrying out a solo sex act.
Now Sophie has spoken of her disgust that his drug excuse was accepted by a jury, who delivered a not proven verdict despite Devenney admitting the string of attacks.
She said: “I am really shocked at this verdict. That was my first ever trip away with my friends and it turned into a nightmare that will stay with me for life.”
A TRAUMATISED teenager has hit out after a man who admitted sexually assaulting her at T in the Park was cleared – because he had taken too many drugs.
Sophie – not her real name – said she will never recover from the attack by Sean Devenney, who has walked free after telling a court he was on “planet Pluto” at the time.
He dragged Sophie around a field at the T in the Park campsite, before forcing her into the tent she was camping in and sexually assaulting her and another girl.
A third victim was assaulted with intent to rape. A fourth girl witnessed him carrying out a solo sex act.
Now Sophie has spoken of her disgust that his drug excuse was accepted by a jury, who delivered a not proven verdict despite Devenney admitting the string of attacks.
She said: “I am really shocked at this verdict. That was my first ever trip away with my friends and it turned into a nightmare that will stay with me for life.”
Sophie after ordeal at T in the Park
Rape campaigners have also called for a review of the not proven verdict in the wake of the bizarre case.
Sophie was just 17 when Devenney struck.
But he was yesterday cleared of a string of sexual offences because he was high on drugs at the time.
The jury at Perth Sheriff Court believed he had been given drugs secretly by a mystery stranger in a yellow tracksuit.
However, Sophie, who is now 18, said Devenney, from Clydebank, bragged about selling ecstasy pills at the Balado event on July 7 this year.
She said: “The first thing he said to me when he attacked me was, ‘I’ve got about 25 eccies – I’ve just sold two’. He put me and my friends through hell – we’re all traumatised. I would hate for any other girl to go through the same ordeal, but I fear he would do this again.”
Devenney admitted storming into a stranger’s tent at T in the Park and dropping his trousers before clambering on to a teenage girl and telling her he was going to have sex with her.
He also accepted sexually assaulting three different girls and carrying out a sex act in front of others.
The jury heard the girls, who had never seen Devenney before, were still wearing pyjamas when he burst into their tent at around 10am.
But before this, Devenney had attacked Sophie as she stood outside.
Recalling the terrifying moment, Sophie said: “He came from nowhere. I was standing outside the tent when I felt someone’s arm lock around my neck. I tried to wriggle free but he was too strong.
“He started hitting me and dragging me around the field by my neck.
T in the ParkAndrew Milligan /PA Wire
“All he kept saying was, ‘We need to get over there.’ I was screaming and crying and begging for him to let go of me but he just tightened his grip.
“I couldn’t breathe properly and no one came to my rescue. It was pouring with rain and I was wearing my pyjamas.”
According to Sophie, Devenney dragged her around for at least 10 minutes before he bundled her back into her tent. She was then forced to watch as he tried to rape one of her other friends.
She said: “After he dragged me around the field, he forced his way into our tent. He dropped his trousers and started performing a sex act.
“Then he was forcing himself on to me, trying to kiss me and my other friend. We were all screaming and trying to push him away but he just continued.
“Then he jumped on top of our other friend, pulled off her pyjama bottoms and tried to rape her. The other girl he’d been trying to kiss went to look for help as I tried to pull Devenney off my friend screaming, ‘Please somebody help us’. Devenney was like a thing possessed.”
The 18-year-old was eventually dragged from the tent by passers-by who heard the screams of the terrified girls.
“My friend was sobbing and I was shaking,” said Sophie.
“I couldn’t stop shaking for about three hours afterwards. I’ve never been so scared in all my life – if those guys hadn’t come to save us, I know he would have tried to rape me too.
“It infuriates me that he has got away with this. I was bruised and battered after he attacked me – the police even took photographs of my injuries.
“Why would a jury believe a monster like Devenney over three girls?”
Fiscal depute Stuart Richardson told the court: “This is a relatively unusual case. You have heard from the witnesses what went on in the campsite.
“No one is arguing whether he was responsible for those things. It appears that although these things took place and he was, without doubt, responsible for doing them, he claims he can’t be held responsible because he had no intention.
“If you take alcohol or drugs it is your lookout, your responsibility for what you do after taking these things. But he says he was, in some way, fed them by some other party.
“The only possibility is that this mystery man, in a bright yellow tracksuit, has kindly decided to feed Mr Devenney drugs – without any charge – just for a laugh. This is a man who was rendered into such a condition he has no recollection of what went on.”
Mr Richardson said that after he was stopped, Devenney kept telling witnesses how much ecstasy he had taken.
“He could have talked about anything but all he talked about was taking drugs. He said this was what T in the Park was all about. He makes it perfectly clear to the girls in the tent what his intentions are if no one can stop him.”
Solicitor Philip Lafferty, defending, admitted: “The facts of this case are essentially proved. I accept the correct person is sitting in the dock because he is the person responsible for carrying out these awful things.
“Did he know what he was doing? He was described by more than one witness as ‘out of his face’.
“One of the gentlemen who helped at the tent entrance said it was ‘like he was in a trance’.
“He was topping it off by declaring he was on ‘planet Pluto’. That is a sign of somebody who is just not in his right mind, who is divorced from reality and not in control.
“It can’t be disputed he made claims to a number of people that he had taken eccies, he had taken drugs. He said he had taken everything from 25 to 25million.”
Rape campaigners last night insisted there needs to be a change in the law.
A Rape Crisis spokesman said: “While we do not comment on individual cases, we know not proven verdicts are used more in rape and sexual assault than in any other crime.
“Juries can be notoriously reluctant to convict, even where there is significant evidence, and we are concerned the not proven verdict could contribute to wrongful acquittals, which can be devastating for victims and their families.
“The Scottish Government have said they will review this at a future date and we welcome that move.”
Rape campaigners have also called for a review of the not proven verdict in the wake of the bizarre case.
Sophie was just 17 when Devenney struck.
But he was yesterday cleared of a string of sexual offences because he was high on drugs at the time.
The jury at Perth Sheriff Court believed he had been given drugs secretly by a mystery stranger in a yellow tracksuit.
However, Sophie, who is now 18, said Devenney, from Clydebank, bragged about selling ecstasy pills at the Balado event on July 7 this year.
She said: “The first thing he said to me when he attacked me was, ‘I’ve got about 25 eccies – I’ve just sold two’. He put me and my friends through hell – we’re all traumatised. I would hate for any other girl to go through the same ordeal, but I fear he would do this again.”
Devenney admitted storming into a stranger’s tent at T in the Park and dropping his trousers before clambering on to a teenage girl and telling her he was going to have sex with her.
He also accepted sexually assaulting three different girls and carrying out a sex act in front of others.
The jury heard the girls, who had never seen Devenney before, were still wearing pyjamas when he burst into their tent at around 10am.
But before this, Devenney had attacked Sophie as she stood outside.
Recalling the terrifying moment, Sophie said: “He came from nowhere. I was standing outside the tent when I felt someone’s arm lock around my neck. I tried to wriggle free but he was too strong.
“He started hitting me and dragging me around the field by my neck.
T in the ParkAndrew Milligan /PA Wire
“All he kept saying was, ‘We need to get over there.’ I was screaming and crying and begging for him to let go of me but he just tightened his grip.
“I couldn’t breathe properly and no one came to my rescue. It was pouring with rain and I was wearing my pyjamas.”
According to Sophie, Devenney dragged her around for at least 10 minutes before he bundled her back into her tent. She was then forced to watch as he tried to rape one of her other friends.
She said: “After he dragged me around the field, he forced his way into our tent. He dropped his trousers and started performing a sex act.
“Then he was forcing himself on to me, trying to kiss me and my other friend. We were all screaming and trying to push him away but he just continued.
“Then he jumped on top of our other friend, pulled off her pyjama bottoms and tried to rape her. The other girl he’d been trying to kiss went to look for help as I tried to pull Devenney off my friend screaming, ‘Please somebody help us’. Devenney was like a thing possessed.”
The 18-year-old was eventually dragged from the tent by passers-by who heard the screams of the terrified girls.
“My friend was sobbing and I was shaking,” said Sophie.
“I couldn’t stop shaking for about three hours afterwards. I’ve never been so scared in all my life – if those guys hadn’t come to save us, I know he would have tried to rape me too.
“It infuriates me that he has got away with this. I was bruised and battered after he attacked me – the police even took photographs of my injuries.
“Why would a jury believe a monster like Devenney over three girls?”
Fiscal depute Stuart Richardson told the court: “This is a relatively unusual case. You have heard from the witnesses what went on in the campsite.
“No one is arguing whether he was responsible for those things. It appears that although these things took place and he was, without doubt, responsible for doing them, he claims he can’t be held responsible because he had no intention.
“If you take alcohol or drugs it is your lookout, your responsibility for what you do after taking these things. But he says he was, in some way, fed them by some other party.
“The only possibility is that this mystery man, in a bright yellow tracksuit, has kindly decided to feed Mr Devenney drugs – without any charge – just for a laugh. This is a man who was rendered into such a condition he has no recollection of what went on.”
Mr Richardson said that after he was stopped, Devenney kept telling witnesses how much ecstasy he had taken.
“He could have talked about anything but all he talked about was taking drugs. He said this was what T in the Park was all about. He makes it perfectly clear to the girls in the tent what his intentions are if no one can stop him.”
Solicitor Philip Lafferty, defending, admitted: “The facts of this case are essentially proved. I accept the correct person is sitting in the dock because he is the person responsible for carrying out these awful things.
“Did he know what he was doing? He was described by more than one witness as ‘out of his face’.
“One of the gentlemen who helped at the tent entrance said it was ‘like he was in a trance’.
“He was topping it off by declaring he was on ‘planet Pluto’. That is a sign of somebody who is just not in his right mind, who is divorced from reality and not in control.
“It can’t be disputed he made claims to a number of people that he had taken eccies, he had taken drugs. He said he had taken everything from 25 to 25million.”
Rape campaigners last night insisted there needs to be a change in the law.
A Rape Crisis spokesman said: “While we do not comment on individual cases, we know not proven verdicts are used more in rape and sexual assault than in any other crime.
“Juries can be notoriously reluctant to convict, even where there is significant evidence, and we are concerned the not proven verdict could contribute to wrongful acquittals, which can be devastating for victims and their families.
“The Scottish Government have said they will review this at a future date and we welcome that move.”
