Overview
- Edinburgh Sheriff Court jailed Carol Buirds for 15 months and imposed non-custodial sentences on Eileen McElhinney and Dorothy Kane, including probation, unpaid work and a curfew.
- The offences occurred at Sisters of Nazareth’s Nazareth House homes in Lasswade and Kilmarnock during the 1970s and early 1980s.
- Prosecutors said Buirds repeatedly assaulted children and carried out degrading punishments such as forcing soap and food into mouths and locking children in cupboards and a dark cellar.
- Police interview videos released by the Crown Office show McElhinney and Kane denying abuse and denying knowledge of a “punishment book.”
- Procurator fiscal Faith Currie described the abuse as sustained and systematic and reaffirmed a commitment to prosecuting similar cases, as survivors spoke of long-awaited validation.