Scottish child abuse gang sentenced to lengthy prison terms

Seven members of a child abuse gang in Scotland have been sentenced by the highest criminal court to prison terms ranging from eight to twenty years, with the possibility of life imprisonment. The judge stated that while the court is accustomed to dealing with severe cases, such depravity against children had never been encountered before.

The extreme abuse of children of this nature is rare. A special committee will assess whether the convicts pose a societal risk after serving their minimum sentences.

Even if released on parole, they will remain under supervision and can be returned to prison at any time. The offenders, consisting of five men and two women aged between 42 and 51, were convicted of the abuse and sexual assault of three young children, with four also charged with attempted murder of the youngest victim.

Some had prior criminal records, though not for sexual violence. Between 2012 and 2019, they organized “rape nights” and “dance and sex nights” in a squalid apartment frequented by drug users.

The three victims were under 13 years old. The older two, a boy and a girl, were beaten and sexually abused and forced to consume alcohol and drugs.

The youngest, a girl, was raped and stated she was locked in an oven and a spider-infested kitchen cupboard and forced to eat dog food. The three came to the attention of social services in 2017, but suspicions of abuse and mistreatment only arose in 2020.

The whereabouts of the children’s parents remain unknown.

Source: NOS

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