Finlaysons Not Jailed For Consensual Sex

That's the good news about the brother and sister who were prosecuted for having consensual sex. But they are still being treated unjustly.

Here's the latest on today's sentencing.

They had previously both pleaded guilty to committing incest and during sentencing at Hamilton Sheriff Court on Friday, the brother received a two-year probation order while the sister received a one-year probation order.

Richard Finlayson was also put on the sex offenders register because his sister was only 17 — a minor — at the time.

I think that's the first time I've seen news that she wasn't yet 18. But would a complete stranger aged 20 or 21 who had sex with her really be prosecuted like this?

Sentencing them, Sheriff Ray Small said: “I’m sure you both understand that most right-minded members of society will find the details of this case unacceptable and difficult to comprehend.”

Small sounds small-minded. There are siblings who are enjoying each other on a casual basis or as the love of each other's life. They don't need lectures from bigots.

But he said both defendants were “vulnerable” and spared them jail because they had no previous convictions and were not viewed as any threat to the public.

But the public has been a threat to them.

This should have never been a criminal matter. It has wasted public resources.