Rapist of 12-year-old walks free from court after `everyone thought girl was over 16`

A rapist who broke down in tears when he discovered the victim was only 12 has escaped punishment after a “wholly exceptional decision” by a High Court judge.

Daniel Cieslak, 21, had sex with the girl at a flat in Edinburgh after meeting her at a taxi rank.

The youngster had previously been spotted in the city centre by police officers searching for a missing person in the early hours – but a judge heard they were “not concerned by her age”.

Cieslak was held after the girl’s sister reported what had happened.

The then-engineering student sobbed when officers revealed how old the child was – after he thought she was 16.

On Friday (March 17), the judge, Lady Scott, sitting in Glasgow, said she decided to give first-time offender Cieslak an absolute discharge.

After imposing the lowest-level adult sentence, she said: “I do not consider there is any need for, or public interest in, punishment. To do so would in my view be disproportionate given the nature of the criminal culpability here.”

Rape laws, which were strengthened in 2009, do not allow any child under the age of 13 to give informed consent about sexual intercourse.

So if it happens, in the eyes of the law, it is rape; and there is no defence of consent.

Lady Scott told Cieslak, who admitted the offence, that the case was one of “strict liability” as anyone under the age of 13 was deemed to be incapable of giving consent.

This was to both protect young girls from “predatory adult males” and to “protect them from themselves”.

However, she said the statutory offence had “a very wide scope” and that there were a number of “exceptional circumstances” in the case.

Lady Scott said there had been consent from the victim.

She added that if the girl, who was 12 years and seven months old at the time of the offence, had been aged 13 then Cieslak would have had a defence to the rape charge.

He could have argued that he had “reasonable grounds” to believe that the victim was above the age of consent.

Lady Scott said there there were a number of “relevant facts”, which included that all witnesses had thought the victim was older than 16.

At a previous hearing February, the court was told the 12-year-old and a teenage friend had been in Edinburgh city centre on July 31, 2015.

In the early hours of the next morning, police were in Princes Street following a report of a missing girl.

The girl happened to direct officers to the child they were looking for.

Despite the time, prosecutor Kath Harper explained: “Police spoke to [the girl who was raped], but did not note her details as they were not concerned by her age.”

The girl and her friend were later in taxi queue when they got talking to Cieslak and his pal.

They all got in a cab together and headed to a flat in the Gorgie district of the city.

It was there Cieslak and the 12-year-old began kissing before the Polish-born student had sex with her.

Days later, the youngster told her sister she was “extremely worried” she could be pregnant.

Miss Harper told the court: “She was distressed at this time.”

The 12-year-old’s GP “encouraged” her to go to the police. It was the girl’s sister who reported the incident.

Cieslak, of Leith, later admitted he had sex with the girl, but denied it was rape. He said he was told the girl was 16.

Prosecutor Miss Harper said: “When it became clear police were suggesting she was younger, he asked them what age she was.

“When told she was 12 years-old, he started to cry and held his head in his hands.”

Footnote: Absolute discharge results in a finding of guilt is made but no conviction is registered