How victims shone a light on 'beastie house' child abuse ring

The ground floor Glasgow flat where the abuse was carried out was boarded up after the police investigation

A panic-stricken girl who became hysterical after waking from a nap sparked a police investigation that uncovered one of Scotland's biggest child abuse rings.

During a series of interviews in the months that followed, the young victims shone a light on the horrific abuse they were subjected to in a squalid Glasgow drug den which they knew as the "beastie house".

The seven members of the gang who carried out the abuse have now been handed life-long restriction orders and custodial sentences ranging from eight to 20 years.

This story mentions a number of people and places that cannot be identified in order to safeguard the children involved.

Warning: This article contains details readers may find upsetting

A middle-aged man was watching TV in his living room when he heard loud bangs and screams coming from upstairs.

A young girl, who he had got to know through his work and church, had just woken from a nap and became hysterical when she was unable to open the door, screaming: "Get me out! Get me out!"

His wife tried to calm the child, who eventually settled down after a drink of juice, but the couple were shaken by the experience.

Later that night the man asked two older children if they had ever seen anything like it before.

They said that they had - and started to reveal the first details of their harrowing ordeals.

Iain Owens is a former abattoir worker

Police Scotland would eventually pursue more than 1,000 lines of inquiry in what was one of the largest prosecutions of a child abuse ring in Scotland.

The complex investigation - known as Operation Woodwhite - unearthed graphic accounts of attempted murder, violence, sexual assault and rape dating back to 2012.

Seven drug users - Iain Owens, 45; Elaine Lannery, 39; Lesley Williams, 42; Paul Brannan, 41; Scott Forbes, 50; Barry Watson, 47, and John Clark, 49 - were found guilty of sexually abusing the three children.

The victims were all under the age of 13 at the time.

During the nine-week trial in 2023, the jury at the High Court in Glasgow heard evidence of "rape nights". Some of the attacks were filmed and money changed hands among the gang.

Detectives said the levels of depravity were "extremely rare" and that the victims suffered "unimaginable abuse".

The three children had been known to the authorities since July 2018, when they were added to Glasgow City Council's child protection register.

But it would be almost two years later before the full horror of their existence became clear.

Paul Brannan and Lesley Williams were members of the seven-strong gang

One was a girl who was said to run wild in her community in the north of the city.

She was described as gaunt, with dark rings under her eyes and the worst case of head lice an expert had seen in her 30-year career.

Another child, a boy, was said to be pencil-thin and malnourished.

The trial heard him described as a "ruffian" and a "street waif" who never stood still.

Both children frequented a public building which they began to treat as a sanctuary.

It was there that they met the middle-aged man who became a key witness in the case.

He said the children came into the building up to three times a week for food and also frequented another public building which had a club facility.

The club's Christmas hamper raffle was secretly rigged to make sure that the children would have some food over the festive period.

The staff also used their own money to fulfil the boy's wish to have a birthday party the following year.

John Clark (left) and Barry Watson denied the charges in the seven-page indictment

The children had already been placed on the child protection register and were the subject of regular social services meetings, especially after an allegation of physical abuse was made in June 2019.

But the chilling truth of what they endured in a dingy ground floor flat remained a secret until the young girl's hysterical reaction on 21 March 2020.

Later that evening, the two eldest children sat down with the man and his wife and began to detail what had happened to them at the hands of the gang.

They said the girl was frequently locked in a cupboard with a box that was full of spiders, and described how she would violently scream and kick at the door from inside for help.

During the subsequent trial the court was shown two recorded videos of the girl being interviewed, while sitting beside her Peppa Pig toy, in 2020 and 2021.

She said the cupboard was "dark and scary" and had bugs in it.

The child added: "That is why it is called the beastie house."

Elaine Lannery pictured during the trial at the High Court in Glasgow

The children went on to describe how the girl was put in an oven and had the door closed behind her. She was also locked in a fridge and put in the freezer after the trays had been removed.

Another child adjusted the temperature so it was not too cold for her.

On other occasions she was hung by her clothes from a nail in the kitchen for up to 10 minutes.

After being told these distressing details, the man emailed Police Scotland to report his concerns in the early hours of the following morning.

Officers then asked him to keep a detailed journal of what the children were saying.

He later told the court he had been "driven by his principles and conscience" to help the youngsters.

In the weeks that followed the initial abuse disclosure, other details gradually emerged of the girl's traumatic young life.

She revealed that she was forced to eat dog food, which made her sick.

Forbes was dubbed Scott the Cameraman by the children

The trial also heard that the girl was raped by members of the gang while she was still young enough to wear a nappy.

She later told police: "It's not nice when people laugh at you when you are hurting."

By August 2020 officers had a full picture of the astonishing web of abuse, including allegations of witchcraft that were later dropped.

The highly-sensitive case presented a major challenge to detectives as it hinged on the evidence of the children, with mental health experts consulted before they were interviewed by officers.

As well as the graphic testimonies, officers gathered medical evidence and co-ordinated detailed forensic searches at several properties.

Two of the gang were also picked out following an identity parade.

Everyone working on the inquiry was offered support due to the traumatic nature of the evidence, from detectives to the typists tasked with transcribing interviews.

Police were able to establish that the older boy and girl were also subjected to savage beatings as well as sexual violence.

During a series of 15 video interviews with the boy - carried out between 2019 and 2020 - he described how the paedophile gang would arrive at the same time, like it was planned.

The boy, who had scratches and bruises nearly everywhere on his body, said the children had been punched and struck with pans until they were knocked unconscious.

They were also forced to consume alcohol and drugs and to sniff a powder that the boy said left him feeling "weird and dizzy".

One of his tormentors even made him deliver cocaine and heroin to another gang member.

A woman who knew him at the time told the trial that the boy had initially been a very bubbly child and a "cheeky, happy type of character".

But she saw a change in him as he became "hyper vigilant" and "almost withdrawn at points".

'Scary and confusing world'

Of all the evidence the jury heard, the accounts of sexual abuse were the most harrowing.

The boy described how one girl was raped by some of the group as others watched.

He also recalled an incident where the "beep" of a timer was used to signal that one attack was to stop and another to start.

The boy said there had been "giggling and laughing" among those involved, and that he was encouraged to have sex with the girl as the gang looked on.

A fourth child was listed in one of the 21 charges on which the jury returned verdicts, but she was not physically or sexually abused.

In her closing speech, prosecutor Kath Harper said the children had become desensitised and were forced to inhabit a "scary and confusing world".

But over a series of interviews, captured on film, they courageously shone a light on the darkness they inhabited for so long.

The children are now receiving extensive support to rebuild their lives and Det Supt Nicola Kilbane hopes their story will inspire other victims of abuse.

She said: "The bravery of the children cannot be under emphasised."

If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this story, support and advice is available via the BBC Action Line.