A mother, grandmother, and stepfather have been sentenced for subjecting three children to years of abuse, characterized as a "house of terror," during which the victims were beaten, starved, and psychologically tormented. The abuse occurred between 2003 and 2012 at an address in Balloch, Dunbartonshire, and a flat in Aberdeen's Bedford Avenue.
Shirley Freeman, 51, and Julia Stephen, 69, were previously found guilty of cruel and unnatural treatment. David McColl, 50, admitted to the crimes.
At Aberdeen Sheriff Court, Sheriff Craig Findlater stated that no sentence could "repair the awful childhoods" experienced by the victims. As an alternative to custody, McColl received a sentence of 220 hours of unpaid work, 18 months of probation, and an 11-month restriction of liberty order. Stephen was ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and was given 18 months of probation. Freeman was sentenced to 18 months of probation, 240 hours of unpaid work, and a 12-month restriction of liberty order.
Two of the victims, William and Meaghan Murphy, now 25 and 28, told BBC Scotland News that the violence and cruelty they endured as children became their normal reality.