SENTENCING STATEMENTS

On sentencing Lord Colbeck made the following remarks in court:

"Over a period of 8 days, between 25^th September and 7^th October this year, the court heard evidence, from numerous women, of the appalling abuse they suffered whilst they were young children, then staying at a residential school at Fornethy House in Kilry, Angus, which was initially run by Glasgow Corporation and then by Strathclyde Regional Council.

You were convicted by the jury of cruelly and unnaturally treating no less than 18 separate young girls and of causing each of them unnecessary suffering and injury to their health. Those offences were committed over the entirety of your time working at Fornethy, that commencing in 1970 and ending in 1984.

Your victims were aged between 5 and 12. Many, but not all of them, were particularly vulnerable due to poverty and difficult family circumstances. The majority of them had never had a proper holiday before. They all thought that their stay at Fornethy would be an adventure. Many of them spoke at their excitement at the prospect of going to Fornethy.

Such thoughts appear to have ended as soon as the doors to Fornethy closed upon them and the horror began.

For the entirety of your time at Fornethy, it is clear that you behaved in a cruel and sadistic manner towards many young girls. The examples spoken to in evidence are too numerous to mention, however, amongst other cruel acts you:

• Made derogatory remarks to children and ridiculed children when they wet the bed;
• Forced children to wear soiled clothing;
• Struck, slapped, punched and kicked children;
• Forced children to eat food, causing them to gag and vomit, and forced them to eat vomit; and
• Forced children to stand facing walls for prolonged periods.

Put shortly, you were in a position of trust and responsibility and used that position to abuse vulnerable children in your care over a period of many years.

 It now falls to the court to sentence you for the crimes you have been convicted of.

You are 77 years of age. You have no previous convictions. You have the protection of the statutory provision that prevents a court from passing a sentence of imprisonment on a person who has not been previously sentenced to imprisonment unless the court considers that no other method of dealing with her is appropriate.

In sentencing an offender, the court must first consider their culpability.

To do so it must first assess the offender’s blameworthiness at the time of committing the offence. In each case, you offended against children in your care, abusing the position of trust you were then in.

The court next requires to assess the harm caused by you.

Everyone who gave evidence did so in a brave and dignified manner. The court recognises just how difficult it must have been for witnesses to be asked to recount traumatic events.

The majority of your victims have provided a victim statement. I recognise also the likely impact on those of your victims who did not do so.

It is clear that your offending behaviour has had a significant affect upon them, and their families, and continues to do so. It is clear that the offences committed against them occasioned significant psychological harm or trauma, which persists today.

Anyone reading the victim statements would be moved by them. They speak candidly of the awful impact their time at Fornethy has had upon them. It is not an exaggeration to suggest that your behaviour contributed to what have, in effect, been life sentences for many, if not all, of your victims.

Taken together, there is an exceptionally high degree of culpability in this case.

In terms of aggravating factors, I have no regard to the fact that the offences were committed against children in respect of whom you were in a position of trust – those factors having been taken account of in my assessment of your culpability.

In terms of mitigation, I have regard to the contents of the pre-sentence report that has been prepared for the court. I have regard also to all that has been said on your behalf today by Mr Stewart KC.

The pre-sentence report that has been prepared notes that you accept no responsibility for the offences. That was your position at trial, and it is unsurprising that you maintain that position. You clearly show no insight into your offending behaviour and the impact this has had upon your many victims. Your suggestion to the author of the pre-sentence report that your victims have made these allegations for financial reasons is frankly absurd and conveniently overlooks the evidence of one of your former colleagues who spoke to aspects of your appalling behaviour.

The gravity of the crimes you have committed is such that there is no doubt whatsoever in my mind that the custodial threshold has been passed in this case, however, a sentence of imprisonment can only be imposed if the court considers that no other method of dealing with you is appropriate.

It is a fundamental principle of sentencing that sentences should be no more severe than is necessary to achieve the appropriate purposes of sentencing in each case. Here, those purposes are punishment; and expressing disapproval of your offending behaviour. No issue of protection of the public arises having regard to your age. There is equally, and for that same reason, together with an absence of offending on your part since 1984, no issue of rehabilitation.

I am proposing to impose a Probation Order upon you today. The nature of a probation order is such that the court can only impose one if you consent to its terms and conditions.

During the currency of the order, you must be of good behaviour and must not to commit another offence; you must comply with the instructions of your supervising officer and inform them of any change of address or employment, and you must observe the additional conditions I will outline shortly.

In terms of the order I propose to make, you will be under supervision for a period of 3 years (the maximum period available to the court). During this period you must attend appointments with your responsible officer at the place and times instructed, for the purposes of promoting your rehabilitation and your continuing good behaviour.

In addition, the order will require you to pay compensation of £1000 to each of the 18 complainers on the charges you were convicted of. That compensation must be paid in full within 2 months of today’s date.

The order will also contain a requirement restricting your movement. For a period of 12 months (the maximum period available to the court) from today’s date you will be required to remain within your home address between the hours of 3 pm and midnight each day.

If you fail to comply with the requirements imposed in this order, you will be reported back to this court and be dealt with for that failure. The court will either issue a warrant for your arrest, or you will be cited to come to court.

If it is proved that you failed to comply with the order or you commit another offence during the probation period you will be liable to be sentenced for the original offence.

The circumstances of the present offences are such that I am satisfied that you should be listed as unsuitable to work with children. I will direct the clerk of court to give the prescribed information the court holds in relation to you to the Scottish Ministers. It is a matter for them as to whether or not you are so listed.