Former SNP equalities officer who once said he wanted to 'beat' feminists is jailed for string of sex attacks

A former SNP equalities officer who claimed he wanted to attack feminists has been jailed over a string of sex assaults.

Cameron Downing, who was an official in the nationalist party’s London branch, preyed on six young adults and even threatened to make rape allegations against one if he refused sexual contact with him.

The 24-year-old, who identifies as non-binary, has been jailed for six years at the High Court in Edinburgh and, as he was led away to the cells, blew kisses to family members sat in the public gallery.

Yesterday’s (TUES) sentencing is not the first time Downing, of Willowbrae, Edinburgh, he has been in the public eye.

Downing, who uses the pronouns he/they, has previously been photographed at an SNP conference with former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

And in 2022 he had posted online how he wanted to ‘beat the f*** out of some terfs and transphobes’ and also said: ‘I f****** hate terfs and transphobes with such a passion.’

It prompted outrage from gender critical campaigners, including Harry Potter author JK Rowling and former SNP MP Joanna Cherry. He later resigned from the post.

Downing’s course of conduct began when he was just 16-years-old, the court heard, and continued until February 2023.

During the police investigation into his offending officers discovered how Downing ‘repeatedly blackmailed’ one of the men he preyed on.

He told his victim if he did not engage in sexual activity with him he would make an allegation to the police that he had been raped by the man.

The witness told the court Downing threatened to contact his friends, family and employer to make the false rape allegation.

The man, now 22-years-old, said he felt ‘trapped’ by Downing’s threat.

And one woman who was targeted by Downing told about how he would touch her inappropriately, and how Downing was a ‘bit of a loaded gun’ who could get ‘personal’ and ‘nasty’ with people.

Downing, a former drama student and equalities convener for the SNP’s London branch, spent his trial denying any wrong doing.

But last month it took a jury two days to return guilty verdicts for five sex offence charges, two assault charges, one charge of assault to injury, and one count of domestic abuse.

Passing sentence Judge Alison Starling said he showed no remorse for his actions and must be jailed.

She said: ‘You present a high likelihood of causing serious harm, both sexual and violent, as well as controlling behaviour within the context of intimate relationships.

‘The likelihood of reoffending is not exclusive to men you are in an intimate relationship with, but includes adult women known to you.

‘You have the capacity to cause physical and sexual harm as well as emotional and psychological distress.

‘Your risk is not currently manageable in the community.’

During his trial jurors were played a video recording of the evidence given by the 22-year-old blackmail victim.

He told the court they had consensual sex but this stopped, and what followed was a threat of telling the police he was a rapist.

And one woman spoke of the abuse she suffered. She said: ‘He would touch me inappropriately, like groping.

‘It was mostly my breasts that he would touch, maybe some groping elsewhere. A lot of it I have filtered out.’

Michael Meehan KC, mitigating, told the judge the sentencing guidelines for young people applied in his client’s case.

And Mr Meehan told the court how Downing had suffered adverse childhood experiences, and said: ‘He was the victim of homophobic and derogatory remarks whilst at school.’

Judge Starling, who said risk assessments found Downing to have ‘hostility towards women, lack of concern for others, sexual preoccupation and deviant sexual preference’, branded him ‘manipulative’.

She told him: ‘You present with distorted views regarding intimate partner violence, and you have shown no remorse or insight how your actions may have affected your victim.’

Downing was given a nine year extended sentence. He will serve six years in prison and, upon his release, be supervised by the authorities for three years.

He was also placed on the sex offenders register for an indefinite period.

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