A court has sentenced a former Scottish National Party (SNP) Equalities Officer accused of sexual assault and blackmail to six years in prison. Cameron Downing, 24, who identifies as non-binary, reportedly preyed on six victims for several years.
According to Scottish Daily Express, the police launched an investigation into Downing, a trans rights activist who was the Media and Communications Officer for the SNP’s LGBTQ group, in early 2023. In total, six victims were identified, some male and others female.
One former partner of Downing’s said that he threatened to fabricate a sexual assault claim against him and report him to police if he didn’t continue performing sexual acts as Downing demanded. The 22-year-old victim said he felt “trapped” by the threats.
The victim also told the court that Downing had said he would bring the false rape allegations to his friends, family, and employer if he didn’t comply with his sexual demands.
“You should want that with all your f*****g being because the alternative is losing me from your life and most likely facing a court case for RAPING me,” he wrote to the victim in a text message that was shared in court.
Another female victim said that Downing began to abuse her when she was still a teenager. She told the court that she was intoxicated at a party when Downing encouraged her to take a shower, after which she had no recollection of what happened, but that she awoke in a bed, covered in bruises. She said that Downing later denied touching her, claiming he was gay and wouldn’t want to “look at [her] saggy t**s anyway.”
The trial was held last month at the High Court in Edinburgh where Downing, who uses he/they pronouns, continually denied any wrongdoing. In addition to trying to convince the jury that he did not blackmail one of his victims, Downing said he “was battling ‘complex’ mental health issues at the time of the abuse.”
The jury deliberated for 48 hours and found Downing to be guilty on charges of physical and sexual assaults.
Downing returned to court on July 16 for sentencing, where he was ultimately handed six years in prison. Judge Alison Stirling also ruled that Downing, who blew kisses to his family as he was escorted out of the courtroom by security, be supervised for three years post-incarceration.
“Cameron Downing, on 14 June 2024, at the High Court in Edinburgh you were convicted after trial of 10 charges of assault, sexual assault and domestic abuse against people who were your friends or your partner,” explained Judge Stirling in the ruling.
In addition to outlining the abuse his victims faced, including taking advantage of one of his victims while he was intoxicated and performing oral intercourse on him, Judge Stirling continues by criticizing Downing’s lack of remorse for his actions.
“You did not show remorse, and you did not identify any impact on your victims,” she said.
Highlighting his risk assessment specific to sexual offending, Judge Stirling also utilized Downing’s “hostility towards women, lack of concern for others, sexual preoccupation and deviant sexual preference” as justification for her sentence.
“You have been assessed as being at a high risk of sexual reoffending. You have relationship deficits and have been manipulative, as well as showing a callous disregard within your friendship groups. Your offenses are likely to have caused significant psychological and physical harm to all your victims, and their psychological recovery from your actions could be prolonged.”
Stirling added that, following his release from prison, Downing would be “deemed unsuitable to work with vulnerable groups” and is forbidden from approaching or contacting his victims.
News of Downing’s sentencing was received warmly by gender-critical activists, including bestselling author J.K. Rowling, who noted the predictability of this outcome based on his previous threats.
“Your regular reminder that men who announce publicly they want to beat up women tend not to be very nice people,” she wrote on X.
Downing’s sentencing comes just two years after he came under fire for threatening violence against women critical of gender ideology.
“I’m in the mood to beat the f*ck out of some TERFs and transphobes today,” wrote Downing in one post from 2020.
His posts sparked widespread backlash from gender-critical activists on X, prompting Downing to lock down his social media accounts. He also later resigned from his position with the SNP.