Seven members of child abuse ring that reached "the depths of human depravity" jailed

Seven members of a child abuse ring that reached "the depths of human depravity" have been sentenced to lifelong restriction orders and told they may never see freedom again.

The two women and five men all convicted of gang raping a child and subjecting other minors to abuse in a Glasgow drugs den will face jail sentences spanning 20 years to eight years before even being considered for parole.

Iain Owens, 46; Elaine Lannery, 40; Lesley Williams, 43; Paul Brannan, 42; Scott Forbes, 51; Barry Watson, 48; and John Clark, 48, were convicted in November 2023 after a trial at the High Court in Glasgow. Four defendants—Owens, Lannery, Brannan, and Williams— were found guilty of attempting to murder a child by forcing her into a microwave and trapping her into other places.

The sentencing took place after a 14-month postponement for thorough risk assessments, as ordered by judge Lord Beckett due to the extreme nature of the offences involving three children from 2012 to 2019. The trial, which lasted for eight weeks, heard evidence of systematic child abuse described as so disturbing that Lord Beckett himself called it "harrowing" and that such behaviour "plunges to the depths of human depravity".

All seven were found guilty of taking part in the gang rape of a child, and were each given an order for lifelong restriction, while Lord Beckett said: “What you and the community must understand is you may never be released.”

The orders involve monitoring high-risk offenders for the rest of their lives if they are deemed suitable for release from prison after serving a minimum punishment period.

Lord Beckett said: “This court is used to hearing some of the worst examples of human behaviour but such depravity as you demonstrated is