Former nuns and support worker sentenced over historic abuse at children’s homes

A former nun who assaulted vulnerable young people at children’s homes more than 40 years ago has been jailed while another former nun and a retired support worker were also sentenced.

Nuns Carol Buirds, 75, known as Sister Carmel Rose, and Eileen McElhinney, 78, who was known as Sister Mary Eileen, as well as ex-support worker Dorothy Kane, 68, were found guilty of subjecting multiple victims to cruel and unnatural treatment over nine years, following a trial at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in November.

The offences took place at two homes in Lasswade, Midlothian, and Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, run by the Catholic order the Sisters of Nazareth between the early 1970s and early 1980s.

The victims, who are all now adults, were aged between five and 14 when the abuse began.

Witnesses for the prosecution included former residents, an ex-staff member and a social worker.

Buirds, of Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, was jailed for 15 months after being found guilty of 13 charges including assault to severe injury, the Crown Office said.

Her offences included rubbing urine-soaked bedding on children, and forcing food and soap into their mouths.

She locked one child in a cupboard and another in an unlit cellar without access to water, and was found to have repeatedly assaulted children, often using implements such as a belt, a wooden ruler, and a stick, prosecutors said.

McElhinney was found guilty of five charges, including violently assaulting young children.

She also forced them to stand in cold showers and sit in cold baths, and used a hairbrush to hit one child on the buttocks, prosecutors said.

The former nun hurt another boy with a metal comb, refusing to stop brushing his hair despite him being in pain.

Kane was found guilty of two charges of cruel and unnatural treatment for repeatedly grabbing a boy, including by the hair, and restraining him by forcing her knees on to his chest.

She also failed to intervene when witnessing another member of staff assaulting the child, and forced a second young person into a cupboard before locking him in.

The three women were sentenced at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Thursday.

McElhinney, of Bishopbriggs, East Dunbartonshire, was made subject to a 12-month probation order and told to perform 240 hours of unpaid work, and given a nine-month curfew between the hours of 4pm and midnight.

Kane, of Lasswade, was given a community service order with a requirement to complete 150 hours of unpaid work within nine months.

A five-week trial heard evidence including police interviews with Kane and McElhinney, who denied children were ever struck with an implement and denied knowledge of a “punishment book”.

Support worker Kane said she “couldn’t remember”, in a police interview recorded on video which was released by the Crown Office after sentencing.

She denied knowing children had been struck with an implement, and said “No” when asked if she considered them to be appropriate, adding she “would have intervened” if she had seen a punishment.

Faith Currie, procurator fiscal for Lothian and Borders at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, said: “Carol Buirds, Eileen McElhinney and Dorothy Kane were entrusted with the care of vulnerable children, but instead they betrayed that trust and inflicted lasting harm through their criminal actions.

“It is now a matter of public record that they gravely breached their duty of care while holding positions of trust and authority at Nazareth House.

“Although these offences took place decades ago, such abuse has never been acceptable and should never have happened.

“The charge of cruel and unnatural treatment reflects the sustained and systematic nature of this abuse over an extended period.

“Scotland’s prosecutors remain fully committed to bringing non-recent child abuse cases before the courts, no matter how much time has passed since these crimes were committed.”

One survivor who gave evidence against Buirds said: “There is only one word to describe my time at Nazareth House – fear.

“I was sent to that home as a young child where I lived constantly on edge, scared I would be punished no matter what I did.

“No-one wanted to listen, no-one wanted to hear about the abuse I endured, and I have carried that trauma throughout my life alone. Until today.

“It just felt right seeing the handcuffs on the woman who abused me as a child. Today I have been heard. Today and forever more I am believed.”

Digby Brown Solicitors is supporting multiple survivors of abuse at Nazareth House.

Senior associate Catherine Hammond said: “The sentences handed down at Edinburgh Sheriff Court reflect the seriousness of the sustained and cruel treatment inflicted on young residents more than 40 years ago.

“Our client, along with others who were subject to harm in these institutions, has shown immense strength in seeking justice and truth.”

The Sisters of Nazareth has been asked for comment.