Seven members of 'monstrous' Glasgow paedophile ring handed life sentences
27 January 2025, 13:37 | Updated: 27 January 2025, 14:16
Warning: Article contains details that readers may find upsetting
Seven members of a 'monstrous' Glasgow paedophile ring have been handed life sentences.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
The two women and five men will all be monitored for life after being convicted of gang raping a child and abusing other children in a drugs den in Glasgow where heroin and crack cocaine were used.
Three children were abused in crimes described by a judge as "the depths of human depravity" between 2012 and 2019.
Iain Owens, 46; Elaine Lannery, 40; Lesley Williams, 43; Paul Brannan, 42; Scott Forbes, 51; Barry Watson, 48; and John Clark, 48, were found guilty following a trial of a string of charges.
Four of the accused - Owens, Lannery, Brannan and Williams - were also found guilty of attempted murder of a child.
Owens was jailed for 20 years, Lannery for 17, Brannan for 15 and Williams for 14.
Clark was sentenced to 10 years in jail, Watson to nine years and six months, and Forbes to eight years.
All were handed an order for lifelong restriction, meaning they will be monitored for life.
Read more: ‘The depths of human depravity’: Seven members of Glasgow paedophile gang found guilty
The trial, which lasted for about eight weeks, heard evidence of systematic child sex abuse, described as "harrowing" by judge Lord Beckett.
The gang would hold "rape nights" and "dance and sex nights" in the drugs den, the trial heard.
One girl was raped by members of the group while she was young enough to wear a nappy.
She was shut in an oven and fridge and forced to eat dog food.
Meanwhile, an older boy and girl were beaten and subjected to sexual violence.
The trial heard that the children first came into contact with social work in Glasgow in August 2017 and were deemed to be at risk in July 2018.
But the allegations of violence and sexual abuse did not come to light until March 2020.
Police were alerted by a man who had got to know the children.
One of the victims became hysterical when she mistakenly thought she had been shut in a room.The man and his wife then documented details of what the children recalled happening at the hands of the gang.
The gang had denied the charges against them but were found guilty in November 2023 after a two-month trial at the High Court in Glasgow.
Judge Lord Beckett told the sentencing hearing for the child abuse ring: "This court is used to hearing some of the worst example of human behaviour but such depravity as you demonstrated is beyond my experience. Such extreme abuse seems to be rare.
"The children showed extraordinary fortitude, strength and stamina as investigators struggled to comprehend what you had done to them.
"The children's exceptional courage and perseverance in the face of threats allowed justice to be done."
He said the crimes "were about as serious as it's possible to be", and praised the actions of a married couple who "provided respite" to the children, and said they were rescued from "desperate darkness of their earlier life".
Leading KC Tommy Ross said orders for lifelong restriction (OLRs) are reserved for the most serious court cases which do not involve murder.
A judge sets a minimum prison term before the offender is eligible to apply for parole and, if granted parole, they are subject to recall back to prison if they commit any new offences or breach the terms of their release.
"Essentially when you get an order for lifelong restriction you will either be in prison or parole for the rest of your natural life," Mr Ross told BBC Scotland News.
