News Desk
- Three children under 13 abused for 7 years
- Investigation began in March 2020
- Seven abusers convicted
ISLAMABAD: A court in Scotland has sentenced seven members of one of Scotland’s biggest child sex abuse rings to life-long sentences and warned that they may never be released.
According to the BBC, these orders are reserved for the most serious court cases in Scotland which do not involve murder and mean the individual will either be in prison or on parole for the rest of their life.
The perpetrators were identified as Iain Owens, Elaine Lannery, Lesley Williams, Paul Brannan, Scott Forbes, Barry Watson, and John Clark.
The decision comes at a time when a particular ethnic and religious minority group was targeted by the far-right in the UK, falsely associating them with grooming gangs. Statistics, however, deflated the claims.
The trial shone light on one of the worst child abuse cases in Scotland’s history.
As per the court, three under-13 victims were subjected to horrific sexual abuse and violence in a Glasgow drug den.
The den was dubbed “the beastie house”.
How did the case unfold?
According to the BBC, a panic-stricken girl who became hysterical after waking from a nap sparked a police investigation.
The probe went on to uncover one of Scotland’s biggest child abuse rings.
Police said the children had suffered “unimaginable abuse”, with the offences including rape, attempted murder and assault.
Scary revelations
The British media reported that two girls and a boy were sexually assaulted on multiple occasions between 2012 and 2019.
The gangs reportedly held “rape nights” and “dance and sex nights” in a flat in Glasgow.
The flat was also frequented by drug users, the police said.
A girl was raped by members of the gang while she was still young enough to wear a nappy, investigator’s revealed.
She described the flat as the “dark and scary beastie house” because she had been locked in a cupboard with a box that was full of spiders, according to British media.

The girl was also shut in an oven and a fridge and was forced to eat dog food.
An older boy and girl were also subjected to savage beatings and sexual violence.
Members of the gang also used Class A drugs in front of the children and caused them to consume alcohol and drugs.
Conviction
The gang had denied the charges but was found guilty.
Judge Lord Beckett told the gang, whose jail sentences totalled more than 93 years, that they may never be released from prison.

He said: “This court is used to hearing the worst examples of human behaviour but such depravity towards young children is beyond my experience.
“This is not typical behaviour and such extreme abuse of children seems to be rare.”