The Scottish government has admitted that children who were raped and attacked by a “monstrous” child sex abuse ring were “failed” by the system.
Seven members of a paedophile gang were jailed yesterday for multiple crimes committed in a Glasgow drugs den.
The case, which involved primary school-aged children being plied with alcohol and cocaine, was described by the judge as plunging to “the depths of human depravity”.
The heroin addicts organised regular gatherings to carry out the brutal violence between 2012 and 2019.
Older children were forced to abuse a younger child during prolonged attacks, referred to in court as “child rape nights”.
It was the largest prosecution of its kind in Scottish history and raised significant issues about what the authorities knew.
A major review is now under way.
On Tuesday, Scotland’s children’s minister told Holyrood the details in the case were “horrific”.
MSP Natalie Don-Innes added: “This case absolutely horrifies me, and there is no getting away from the fact that these children were failed.”
The minister said a case review will ensure “safeguarding is bolstered going forward”.
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The children, who referred to the location of their abuse as the “beastie house”, claimed money was exchanged after the heinous sex attacks while some of the sex offenders laughed.
Iain Owens, 46, Elaine Lannery, 40, Lesley Williams, 43, Paul Brannan, 42, Scott Forbes, 51, Barry Watson, 48, and John Clark, 48, were all found guilty of rape and sexual assault.
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The paedophiles were each sentenced to an order for lifelong restriction (OLR).
An OLR is a life-long sentence usually reserved for the most serious court cases in Scotland that do not involve murder.
