Paedophile doctor could walk free as life sentence cut by half

A PAEDOPHILE doctor who was given a life sentence after trying to lure two primary schoolgirls into his car succeeded in having his minimum jail term cut by more than half yesterday.

Leslie Mitchell, 58, will now become eligible to seek his release from prison but any decision to free him will lie with the parole authorities.

Judges at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh rejected a legal challenge brought by him against the imposition of an Order for Lifelong Restriction (OLR).

Lord Carloway said they were satisfied that having regard to the risk to the public the sentencing judge, Lord Hardie, was correct in imposing the indeterminate sentence.

However, the appeal judges said that in light of an earlier decision by a seven-judge bench in test cases brought by rapist Robert Foye, 32, and sex offender Morris Petch, 54, they had to recalculate the minimum term to be served.

Foye earlier secured a reduction in his punishment part from nine years to four-and-a-half years after being convicted of raping a teenager while on the run from Castle Huntly prison following the ruling.

Mitchell was originally ordered to serve a minimum term of four years before he could apply for release, but the appeal judges said this would be reduced to 16 months. He has been in custody since June last year.

The former Stirling Royal Infirmary casualty doctor originally admitted committing a breach of the peace in January last year at Webster Avenue, Carronshore, in Stirlingshire, by engaging the girls aged ten and 11 in conversation, asking if he could tickle their legs and attempting to entice them into a car.

The first offender, formerly of Heritage Drive in Falkirk, described himself to a social worker who was asked to prepare a report on him as a “recovering paedophile”.

He revealed that he had previously taken part in similar conduct in 1993 and 1997 and began grooming young girls in chatrooms after getting internet access in 2000.

He accepted that he had met the two girls with the intention of grooming them to commit sex offences against them.

Lord Hardie told Mitchell: “The terms of the charge really don’t do justice to what was actually happening in this case. It became clear that your clear intention was to ingratiate yourself with these two little girls, ultimately to take them away and have sexual intercourse with them.”

In imposing the OLR on the doctor, he told him: “The effect of that is you may never be released from prison.”

Mitchell challenged both the imposition of the life sentence and the length of the minimum term, or punishment part, during his appeal. His solicitor, Murray Macara QC, argued that the indeterminate sentence was “unnecessary and inappropriate” and that the period set that he must spend in jail was “excessive”.

Lord Carloway, who heard the appeal with Lord Bonomy and Lord Brodie, said the court was required to make an OLR if satisfied that the risk criteria, that the offender would seriously endanger lives or physical or psychological well-being of members of the public if at liberty, set down in the legislation was met.

He said: “The court has no difficulty in holding that the sentencing judge was entitled to reach the conclusion that these criteria were met on the basis of the material before him.”