Former Edinburgh SNP activist preyed on victims and ‘blackmailed’ man

A former SNP activist who once tweeted how he wanted “beat the f**k” out of feminists has been jailed for six years for a series of sexual assaults.

Cameron Downing, 24, preyed on six victims at locations across Scotland during a course of conduct which began when he was just 16 years-old. The High Court in Edinburgh heard how the abuse continued until February 2023. Police learned about his activities and launched a probe.

But the court heard that during the probe, officers discovered how Downing ‘repeatedly blackmailed’ one of the men he preyed on. He told his victim that if he didn’t engage in sexual activity with him, he’d make an allegation to the police about how he had been raped by the man.

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The witness told the court that Downing said he’d also contact his friends, family and employer and make the false rape allegation to them. The man, who is now aged 22, gave evidence and said he felt “trapped” by Downing’s threat.

Downing, a former drama student and an equalities convenor for the SNP’s London branch, spent his trial denying any wrongdoing. Downing said he hadn’t been threatening the male and was battling ‘complex’ mental health issues at the time of the abuse.

Last month, jurors spent two days deliberating their verdicts before returning guilty verdicts on charges of physical and sexual assaults on Downing, whose pronouns are he/they. On Tuesday, Downing, of Willowbrae, Edinburgh, returned to the dock of the high court in the Scottish capital for sentencing.

Judge Alison Stirling also ordered Downing to be supervised by the authorities for three years following his release from custody. He blew kisses to family members sitting in the public benches as security guards took him away from the court.

Passing sentence, she made reference to an interview that Downing gave to a court appointed social worker tasked with finding out more about his background. He told the social worker he was innocent of any wrongdoing.

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She said: “You have shown no compassion or insight into how your behaviour has affected the well being of your victims.

“Your risk cannot be managed in the community and custody is the only appropriate disposal with regard to the seriousness of your offending in this case. I am going to impose a sentence in two parts.

“The first part will be a custodial term of six years and the second part will be supervision.”

It is not the first time that Downing has came to public attention. In 2022, it emerged that Downing tweeted about how he wanted to “beat the f*** out of some terfs and transphobes”.

He also tweeted “I f****** hate terfs and transphobes with such a passion.”

The tweets caused Harry Potter author JK Rowling to say: “Nicola Sturgeon’s Scotland: A place where an equalities officer feels free to declare in public how much he wants to beat up non-compliant women.”

The comments made by Downing came to light after he had been elected as equalities officer for the SNP’s London branch in October 2022. He later resigned from the post.

A photograph also emerged of Downing posing with former first minister Nicola Sturgeon at a SNP conference in Aberdeen. The remarks made by Downing prompted former SNP MP Joanna Cherry, a gender-critical feminist to accuse Downing of being “misogynistic”.

During proceedings, jurors were played a video recording of the evidence given by the 22-year-old victim who was blackmailed by Downing. He told the court of how he and Downing had consensual sex but this stopped.

The man, who can’t be identified for legal reasons, told the court that Downing’s reaction to this decision “terrified” him. The court heard that Downing threatened the man by telling him that if he didn’t change his mind, he would tell the police of how the victim had “raped” him.

Downing said they had messages from the man that “proved” that he had sexually assaulted him. He added: “I felt trapped.

“I shouldn’t have let it get to that point. He said that he would ruin my life.

“He said he would use them to put me behind bars. He was going to tell my friends and family that I was a rapist and that I had done something wrong.”

The jury were also shown messages that Downing sent to the victim. One message read: “I don’t care if you’re not ready make yourself ready.”

Another message read of how Downing wanted his victim to continue having sex with them

it read: “You should want that with all of your f*****g being because the alternative is losing me from your life and most likely facing a court case for RAPING (NOTE – CORR capital letters) me.”

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One woman who was targeted by Downing spoke of how Downing was a “bit of a loaded gun” who could get “personal” and “nasty” with people. Speaking about the abuse she suffered, the witness added:

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.”

The woman, now aged 24, said she attended a New Year party in January 2018 at a friend’s home when she was still a teenager and Downing was among those present. She said Downing came up to her and told her a boy had said he thought she was “hot” until she discovered food.

She said: “It devastated me because I had quite a few body issues.”

On Tuesday, defence advocate Michael Meehan KC told judge Stirling that the sentencing guidelines for young people applied in his client’s case.

Mr Meehan’s remarks refer to guidelines followed by judges in Scotland – scientific research has established that people aged under 24 don’t have fully formed brains and have a greater chance of rehabilitation than older people. Judges are supposed to take this into account when considering what sentences to impose on young offenders.

Mr Meehan also told the court of how his client had suffered adverse childhood experiences. He added: “He was the victim of homophobic and derogatory remarks whilst at school.”

Judge Stirlng decided that Downing’s risk meant that he had to go jail. She also told him he’d be placed on the Sex Offenders Register for an indefinite period.

Scotland’s Procurator Fiscal for High Court Sexual Offending, Katrina Parkes, said: “Cameron Downing is a dangerous individual whose predatory and manipulative behaviour has inflicted unimaginable trauma.

“It is thanks to the bravery and courage of his victims that this prosecution has been possible.

“I would urge any victim of a similar crime not to suffer in silence but to report it and seek support.

“You will be listened to, and we will use every tool available to us in seeking justice.”