Evil former nun 'rubbed pee-soaked bedding on kids' at children's home

Evil former nun who abused children at Scottish care homes jailed

The sick pattern of abusive behaviour also included locking one child in a cupboard and another in an unlit cellar without access to water

A former nun who carried out shocking abuse against vulnerable children at care homes more than 40 years ago has been jailed, while two other women involved in the historic offences have also been sentenced.

Carol Buirds, 75, known as Sister Carmel Rose, was jailed for 15 months after being found guilty of 13 charges, including assault to severe injury. Her appalling actions included rubbing urine-soaked bedding on children, forcing food and soap into their mouths, locking one child in a cupboard and another in an unlit cellar without access to water. Prosecutors said she repeatedly assaulted children, often using implements such as a belt, a wooden ruler, and a stick.

Eileen McElhinney, 78, known as Sister Mary Eileen, and former support worker Dorothy Kane, 68, were also convicted of subjecting children to cruel and unnatural treatment over a nine-year period. The offences took place at two homes run by the Catholic order Sisters of Nazareth in Lasswade, Midlothian, and Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, between the early 1970s and early 1980s. Victims, now adults, were aged between five and 14 at the time.

McElhinney was found guilty of five charges, including violently assaulting young children, forcing them to stand in cold showers, sit in freezing baths, and hitting one child on the buttocks with a hairbrush. She also used a metal comb on a boy, refusing to stop despite causing pain.

Kane was convicted of two charges for cruel and unnatural treatment, including repeatedly grabbing a boy by the hair, restraining him with her knees, and locking another child in a cupboard. She also failed to intervene when other staff assaulted children.

The sentencing took place at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Thursday. McElhinney, of Bishopbriggs, East Dunbartonshire, was given a 12-month probation order, 240 hours of unpaid work, and a nine-month curfew from 4pm to midnight. Kane, of Lasswade, was given a community service order requiring 150 hours of unpaid work within nine months.

During the trial, both McElhinney and Kane denied striking children with implements or having knowledge of a “punishment book.” Kane told police she “couldn’t remember” and said she would have intervened had she seen a punishment take place.

Prosecutor Faith Currie said: “Carol Buirds, Eileen McElhinney and Dorothy Kane were entrusted with the care of vulnerable children but instead betrayed that trust, inflicting lasting harm. These offences reflect the sustained and systematic abuse over an extended period. Scotland’s prosecutors remain fully committed to bringing historic child abuse cases before the courts.”

One survivor described her time at Nazareth House as “fear,” saying: “I lived constantly on edge, scared I would be punished no matter what I did. Today, seeing the handcuffs on the woman who abused me felt right. Today I have been heard. Today and forever more I am believed.”

Digby Brown Solicitors, representing multiple survivors, said the sentences reflect the “seriousness of the sustained and cruel treatment inflicted on young residents more than 40 years ago.”