Devil mask child sex abuse ring get life sentences over 'extraordinary depravity'
Devil mask child sex abuse ring get life sentences over 'extraordinary depravity'
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A gang of child abusers who wore devil masks to terrify children, put a baby in a microwave and carried out extreme sex offences in a twisted cycle of "extraordinary depravity" have given life sentences - and may never be freed. In the largest prosecution of a child abuse ring in Scotland eight people were convicted of their parts in the abuse, which saw four children introduced to a world of drugs and alcohol, before being exposed to sexual abuse and violence. The offences included rape and attempted murder. Judge Lord Beckett jailed seven of them today jailed for between eight and 20 years - and were handed orders for lifelong restriction, while an eighth defendant's sentencing was deferred for a year.
Eleven people went on trial at the High Court in Glasgow, with three - two men and a woman - acquitted. Seven were convicted of committing sexual abuse, including rape, and four were found guilty of attempting to murder a young girl by trapping her in various places including a cupboard. Some of the victims were abused in a Glasgow drugs den where heroin and crack cocaine were used.
Iain Owens, 45, Elaine Lannery, 39, Lesley Williams, 41, and Paul Brannan, 41 were found guilty of attempting to murder a baby girl, who was put in a microwave, forced to eat dog food, and hung by her clothes from a nail, as well as being chased by people wearing a devil mask, on occasions between December 2015 and June 2019.
Three child complainants made allegations that originally related to witchcraft but developed to include child sex abuse, including rape and attempted murder, the High Court in Glasgow heard. The court heard two girls and a boy were violently and sexually assaulted on multiple occasions between 2012 and 2019, and members of the group used Class A drugs in front of the children and made them take alcohol and drugs.
