Nuns punished for cruelty in children’s homes
Two former nuns and a retired support worker have been sentenced for their horrific abuse of vulnerable children at care homes in Scotland over 40 years ago.
Carol Buirds, 75, Eileen McElhinney, 78, and Dorothy Kane, 68, subjected numerous young victims to cruel and inhumane treatment at two facilities operated by the Catholic order Sisters of Nazareth.
These terrible acts occurred at Nazareth House homes located in Lasswade, Midlothian, and Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, between 1972 and 1981.
During a five-week trial at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last year, jurors learned that Buirds, who was known as Sister Carmel Rose, rubbed urine-soaked bedding on children and forced food and soap into their mouths.
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) reported that she also locked one child in a cupboard and another in a dark cellar without any access to water.
Buirds was also found to have repeatedly assaulted children, often using objects like a belt, a wooden ruler, and a stick.
In his sentencing statement, Sheriff Iain Nicol remarked: “The most egregious examples included repeatedly slamming children’s heads against walls, hitting them with belts, sticks, rulers, and slippers, punching and kicking them in the head and body, forcing soap into their mouths, locking children in cupboards, force-feeding them, rubbing urine-soaked bedding into their hair, and making them sit in cold baths while washing them with a floor brush.”
“On many occasions, the children were injured, and on one occasion, they were severely hurt.”
McElhinney, known as Sister Mary Eileen, brutally assaulted children and forced them to endure cold showers and sit in icy baths.
The COPFS reported that she used a hairbrush to strike one child on the backside and caused pain to another with a metal comb, ignoring his cries as she continued to brush his hair.
Sheriff Nicol remarked: “The most egregious instances of your wrongdoing involved hitting and punching children, causing one to collapse, repeatedly kicking and jumping on another child, forcing them into cold showers or baths, grabbing them by their clothes, hair, or arms, and dragging them around, as well as slapping them multiple times.
“You caused suffering and injury.”
Kane was found guilty of repeatedly grabbing a boy, including pulling his hair, and pinning him down by pressing her knees onto his chest.
She also stood by without intervening when she saw another staff member assaulting a child and even locked a second child in a cupboard after forcing him inside.
The victims, now all adults, were between five and 14 years old when the abuse started.
Sheriff Nicol mentioned that the victim impact statements were “harrowing to read,” commending the courage and strength of the complainants for coming forward to testify.
The trio was convicted in November and received their sentences on Thursday.
Buirds faced 13 charges, which included eight counts of cruel and unnatural treatment, assault causing severe injury, assault causing injury, and three counts of assault.
Sheriff Nicol highlighted that some of her victims still struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health issues as a result of the abuse.
He mentioned, “Medication and other forms of treatment have always been necessary and continue to be so.”
“Some individuals have expressed feelings of being suicidal, which led to one of the complainants being hospitalized for a year and left her unable to speak for five years.”
The sheriff noted that Buirds still denies any wrongdoing and has shown “no remorse whatsoever.”
Buirds, who hails from Wallsend in Tyne and Wear, received a 15-month prison sentence.
McElhinney faced five charges, including three counts of cruel and unnatural treatment and two counts of assault.
Sheriff Nicol remarked, “These offenses occurred at the start of your journey as a nun when you were young, and the social worker believes you may have been particularly vulnerable to the influence of older, more experienced nuns.”
“There’s been no indication of any ongoing offenses in the last 45 to 50 years.”
“During that time, you’ve worked as a social worker and later as a volunteer, helping those in need.”
McElhinney, from Bishopbriggs in East Dunbartonshire, was given a 12-month Probation Order along with 240 hours of community service.
Additionally, she was instructed to stay at her home from 4 PM to midnight for the next nine months.
Kane was found guilty of two counts of cruel and unnatural treatment.
Kane, who hails from Lasswade in Midlothian, has been handed a Community Service Order requiring him to complete 150 hours of unpaid work within the next nine months.
Faith Currie, the procurator fiscal for Lothian and Borders at COPFS, emphasized that such abuse is “never acceptable and should never have occurred.”
She went on to say, “Carol Buirds, Eileen McElhinney, and Dorothy Kane were given the responsibility of caring for vulnerable children, but they chose to betray that trust, causing lasting harm through their criminal actions.”
Nuns punished for cruelty in children’s homes
