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The ring of drug addicts committed some of the most depraved acts of child abuse, police said
Seven Scottish pedophiles have been handed stiff prison terms for committing what authorities described as some of the most “monstrous” cases of child abuse.
The six men and one woman were convicted in November after a trial at the High Court in Glasgow. Four of them, including the woman, were found guilty of attempting to murder a child by placing her in a microwave oven, while all seven were found guilty of gang raping a minor. One man and the woman were convicted of multiple counts of assault, sexual assault, rape and causing a child to ingest drugs and alcohol.
The group, all of whom are in their 40s and addicted to heroin, were handed ‘Orders for Lifelong Restriction’ on Monday, and will not be eligible for parole for between nine and 20 years. If released, they will be monitored for the rest of their lives.
The group’s victims told police that they were plied with alcohol and cocaine and taken to “rape nights” at a house in Glasgow, with some of them forced to abuse other children for the entertainment of the gang. The pedophiles told their victims that they were “witches and wizards,” who could summon demons if the children refused to submit to the abuse, prosecutors told the court in 2023.
During the trial, Judge Lord Beckett described this testimony as “unpleasant and shocking,” adding that the perpetrators’ behavior “plunges to the depths of human depravity.”
“The levels of depravity shown in this case are extremely rare in Scotland and the courage of the victims was essential in securing this conviction,” Detective Superintendent Nicola Kilbane told Sky News.
“There have been some horrendous cases over the decades. But this one is truly shocking and the public will find it difficult to think that children…can be exposed to such willful and awful treatment, such horrendous abuse,” National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children spokesman Matt Forde told the British broadcaster.
Orders for Lifelong Restriction are rarely handed down in Scotland, and are typically reserved for violent and sexual offenders. Prisoners serving such sentences cannot be released unless they can prove that they pose no threat to the wider community.
