Paedophile ring of ‘witches and wizards’ who subjected vulnerable youngsters to ‘appalling’ abuse face life sentences as judge warns releasing them could endanger more children

  • WARNING: SOME READERS MAY FIND THIS CONTENT DISTRESSING 



Seven members of a depraved child sex ring have been told that they face a possible life sentence after subjecting multiple youngsters to depraved abuse.

The five men and two women, who repeatedly raped, attacked and brutalised the vulnerable children at a dirty hovel known as the ‘beastie house’, were branded a potential danger to the public by a judge at the High Court in Glasgow today.

The gang subjected three children to years of heartbreaking abuse and even got their victims to take part in ‘occult practices’ such as casting ‘spells’ and making them believe they were turning into animals as part of a satanic ‘coven’.

In one incident the group one girl was pinned down and attacked as other members of the gang cheered, hollered and encouraged what was happening.

The gang were said to have had ‘rape nights’, ‘dance and sex nights’ as well as ‘dog killing nights’ at the hell-hole flat where they routinely took drugs and abused the children.

Five men and three women were convicted today at the High Court in Glasgow of horrific crimes against four children under the age of 13. Pictured: Lesley Williams and Paul Brannan
Iain Owens, 45, was convicted of 18 charges including the rape of the three children, attempted murder of one involving shutting her in a microwave and other kitchen appliances
Pictured: John Clark
The paedophile gang caused the children to consume drugs and alcohol. They also used Class A drugs in front of them. Pictured: Elaine Lannery
A total of eight people were found guilty at the High Court in Glasgow in what is believed to be Scotland’s largest child sex abuse ring trial

One terrified young girl was even ‘put in an oven’ as well as padlocked in a fridge and shut in a cupboard that had ‘beetles and spiders in it’.

READ MORE HERE: Chilling photos peek inside the squalid ‘Beastie House’ where vile gang of paedophiles locked kids in an oven, fridge and cupboard full of spiders during their horrific reign of ‘rape nights’ and violence 

The ordeals only emerged after the brave young victims revealed how they had suffered to a couple they got to know before a massive police probe was sparked.

Last year jurors had returned verdicts on 21 charges which occurred between April 2012 and June 2019.

Iain Owens, 45, was convicted of 18 charges including the rape of the three children and the attempted murder of one involving shutting her in a microwave and other kitchen appliances. The jobless addict was also guilty of other sex offences and class A drug supply.

Elaine Lannery, 39, was convicted of 12 charges including the rape of the children.

Lesley Williams, 42, was convicted of five charges including the rape of two girls.

Paul Brannan, 40, meantime was guilty of seven charges which also featured the rape of all the three sex abuse victims.

Lannery, Williams and Brannan had also been convicted of attempted murder.

Scott Forbes, 50, was convicted of the rape of one girl.

Barry Watson and John Clark, both 47, joined them in the dock having been found to have raped two of the young victims.

Marianne Gallagher was cleared of sex abuse, but was convicted of being part of an assault on one girl. The 39-year-old was spared jail and was ordered to be of good behaviour for 12 months.

Scott Forbes, 50, (pictured) was found guilty being found to have raped a girl
Barry Watson, 47, was also found guilty of raping two girls. He was remanded in custody

In the High Court in Glasgow on Thursday, Judge Lord Beckett said he would send them for a risk assessment before passing sentence,but warned them they all faced potential lifelong restrictions for their crimes.

‘All of you were convicted of sexual abuse of a young child in the most appalling circumstances,’ he said.

‘All the crimes you were convicted of are serious. All the sexual cases are of extreme gravity.’

He added: ‘In light of the nature of the charges you are convicted, all the evidence led and the information on each of you it appears to me that with the nature of the circumstances of this offence, you may, at liberty, seriously endanger members of the public at large particularly younger children.

‘I’m close to concluding the risk criteria may be met in which I will be bound to impose a risk assessment order.

‘It is not inevitable that an order of lifelong restriction may be imposed on all or any of you. You are not all in the same position and the court will consider the case of each of you and your own circumstances and the charges you were convicted.

‘Understand each of you face a substantial prison sentence and these may be extended.’

In such cases, the offender will also be ordered to serve a minimum period in jail – a punishment part – before they could be considered for a parole bid.

The case was deferred until Tuesday next week for a risk assessor to be identified for each person.

The group, who were convicted after a harrowing nine-week trial last year, were remanded in custody meantime.

Scott Forbes (pictured) was found guilty in court of raping one girl
Barry Watson (pictured), 47, was also convicted for raping two girls
Elaine Lannery (pictured), 39, was convicted of the rape of the children among the 12 charges she was done for

The case mainly centred on three children – two girls and a boy. Another girl was listed in a charge, but she was not physically or sexually harmed.

Jurors heard details of the victims depressing young lives – even before they were preyed upon.

READ MORE HERE:  Seven members of paedophile gang posed as ‘witches and wizards’ to sexually abuse primary school children by plying victims with alcohol and drugs, subjecting them to group rapes and shut them in oven and padlocked fridge

One in particular suffered from chronic, severe head lice described as the ‘worst’ a child professional had seen in her near 40-year career.

A number of witnesses in the trial became emotional as they recounted their dealings with some of the youngsters.

Describing one, a woman told jurors how a ‘bubbly wee boy’ became ‘hyper vigilant’ and lost his innocence.

The behaviour of another of the older children changed from her being ‘very friendly’ to a ‘boisterous’ girl tormented by what she was being subjected to.

The youngsters suffered in silence until police were alerted in 2020. This was after a man who got to know the children reported what he had been told.

It was sparked after one of the victims became hysterical having mistakenly thought she had been shut in a room.

The man told the trial he had then been ‘driven by his conscience and principles’ to then help the victims.

Along with his wife, he painstakingly documented horrific details of what the children recalled happening at the hands of the gang.

There were said to have been ‘rape nights’, ‘dance and sex nights’ as well as ‘dog killings nights’ at the hell-hole flat.

One of the girls was ‘put in an oven’ as well as padlocked in a fridge and shut in a cupboard with ‘beetles and spiders in it’.

The same child described the flat as the ‘dark and scary beastie house’.

Paul Brannan (pictured), 40, was guilty of seven charges which also featured the rape of all the three sex abuse victims
Iain Owens (pictured), 45, was convicted of 18 charges including the rape of the three children, attempted murder of one involving shutting her in a microwave and other kitchen appliances

What was described as a satanic ‘coven’ – a mixture of ‘witches and wizards’ – were also said to have got the children involved in ‘occult practices’ casting ‘spells’ and turning them into animals.

The young boy was also made to courier drugs on behalf of one member of the gang.

The couple were then told of depraved sexual abuse – much of it too graphic to explain in detail – at the hand of the paedophile ring.

A series of emails – shown during the trial – were sent to Police Scotland sparking the huge inquiry.

On hearing this read back to him in court, the man said: ‘That is a nightmare in real time. Listening to that, it is quite distressing.’

The pre-recorded police interviews and evidence before a judge were played during the trial.

Among the crimes jurors heard about was one of the girls being restrained and abused by members of the ring in a disgusting room until she was injured and unconscious – all while it was being recorded on camera.

Owens was said to have ‘received payment’.

John Clarke (pictured), 47, was convicted

The gang all denied being paedophiles or physically harming the children. Some, however, confessed to openly taking drugs in front of the youngsters.

In her closing speech, advocate depute Miss Harper said the children had been victims of a ‘scary and confusing world’ and that they would had to have been ‘off the scale devious’ to have made up the abuse.

Owens’ KC Gary Allan on Thursday said: ‘His position on oath always has been that these allegations of sexual misconduct were wholly without substance.

‘He does not accept in any respect his guilt of these charges of misconduct set out in the indictment.’

Ronnie Renucci KC, defending Lannery, meantime told the court: ‘It has been brought home to her the impact of drug misuse in a wider scale rather than the single person who is taking it.’

Michael Anderson KC said Williams maintains her position of innocence.

Brannan’s defence KC Tony Lenehan told the judge: ‘On the evidence, his involvement was through drugs rather than sexual convenience.’

Tony Graham KC, defending Watson, said: ‘He gave evidence at trial and you heard the position in relation to the allegation.

‘He was convicted on the face of the evidence and he maintains his position of denial.’

Forbes’s KC Jim Wallace stated ‘His position from the outset is that he is innocent of all of the charges he was convicted.’

Iain McSporran KC, defending Clark, told the hearing: ‘You heard him give evidence that he categorically professes his innocence.

Gallagher’s advocate Thomas Ross KC said: ‘The charge is serious due to the age of the victim – more serious allegations were deleted by the jury.’

Mark Carr, 50, Richard Gachagan, 46, and Leona Laing, 51, had also stood trial last year, but were acquitted of all the charges they faced.

Reference

Denial of responsibility! Elite News is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
DMCA compliant image

Leave a comment