Move to protect paedophile suspects

A children's charity has attacked plans to give suspected paedophiles the same right to anonymity as their alleged victims.

Children First said it strongly opposes the proposal, which is being investigated by the Scottish Parliament's Justice Committee.

Committee member Michael Matheson said it was accepted that the issue was emotive but MSPs had to consider how justice could best be served.

MSPs have been considering whether people accused of rape should be given anonymity during trials until they have been found guilty.

Michael Matheson said it was an emotive issue

However, they could also consider extending that right to alleged paedophiles.

Mr Matheson, Scottish National Party list MSP for Central Scotland, said: "I think paedophile cases are the ones people would have greatest difficulty or most concern about, if anonymity was extended to those who were involved or accused of paedophilia.

"But the question is that while the trial is proceeding, the person is innocent and if the public interest can be maintained by extending anonymity to someone involved in a sexual offences trial who has been accused of paedophilia then we have to look at that seriously."

Mixed reaction

But the charity Children First, which said it has examined how best children's interests can be met in court, has raised serious doubts about the proposal.

The charity warned that changing the law would send out the wrong message to young victims.

Margaret Mackay, of Children First, said: "It is important to remove the secrecy and, from the child's point of view, remove the secrecy and shame which surrounds this particular experience.

"And so anything which appears to make this a different process in court from other processes seems to us to highlight or emphasise the difference or the secrecy or the shame that the child may well feel."

Some victim support groups have backed the proposals, with a number of human rights experts expected to argue that the stigma attached to serious sex assault allegations is so great that a person's life can be blighted even if found not guilty.

'Protection of the victim'

The Law Society of Scotland said providing anonymity for some accused paedophiles does have some merit.

Oliver Adair, of the society, said: "When the society looked at this, one of the primary concerns was with protection of the victim.

"We could visualise circumstances where the anonymity of the victim perhaps because of the circumstances of the alleged offence, or the location of the alleged offence, that anonymity could be prejudiced by the publication of the accused's identity."

The committee is expected to raise the issue with Justice Minister Jim Wallace later this month.

A spokesman for the Scottish Executive said it has not plans to change the law at present.