Child Abuse Inquiry: Child jailed among sex offenders

The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry was told how a boy was forced to "slop out" and was later jailed among sex offenders

A child under the age of 16 was held in custody with sex offenders at an adult prison, an inquiry has heard.

The witness, known by the pseudonym Jim, told the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry in Edinburgh he was sent to a children's home after his parents split up in the 1970s.

He was placed in several secure care units while aged between 12 and 16.

Jim said in one, he would be locked up with three other boys for the night with only a pot to use as a toilet.

James Peoples KC, senior counsel to the inquiry asked Jim: "So it was like a form of slopping out?"

Jim replied "yes" and later told the inquiry that the smell was "horrendous".

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Secure accommodation is a form of residential care that restricts the freedom of children under the age of 18.

The Scottish government website says : "It is for the small number of children who may be a significant risk to themselves, or others in the community."

Jim said his experiences in secure care affected his mental health and he often had memories of his time in care triggered by watching films.

He also described how at the age of 14 or 15 he was sent to the now defunct Craiginches Prison in Aberdeen after he threw a book at a member of the secure care's staff and it caught fire at the facility he had been staying in.

'Wet the bed'

He went to a court hearing where the sheriff ordered him to be sent to prison and he was placed in the protective wing of the prison, where sex offenders and paedophiles were held.

In his written statement to the inquiry, Jim described himself as a "wee boy in an adult prison".

When he arrived at the first facility, Craigielea Reception Centre school, he told the inquiry he had started wetting the bed.

He said if staff discovered children had wet the bed in the morning they "threw the wet sheets in your face in front of all the other children".

He added that that staff members would frequently assault children by "punching, kicking and slapping them".

'Rigorous fitness regime'

Jim was also held at Glenochil Young Offenders Institution in Alloa, Clackmannanshire, which he described as being "regimental" and "military style".

He described the experience there as being a "short, sharp shock" with most young people being held for eight weeks.

The inquiry heard that new inmates were punched in the face and were forced to participate in extremely rigorous physical fitness regimes.

"If you didn't beat the time or match it from the last day, you could get time added on to your sentence," Jim said.

"It must have had a good success rate because a lot of the kids never got into trouble again."

Jim also said he had a social worker who he described as the "nicest person" he had ever met who began to speak up for him and treated him well.

'Real value'

He told the inquiry he never told the police about his experiences because he had experienced brutality from them throughout his life.

"The police are career people now. That was a different time then," he said.

Jim said he did not receive the education he believed he deserved as a result of his experiences.

Lady Smith, who is chairing the inquiry, thanked Jim for sharing his experiences and said what he had told them was of "real value" to the work they were doing.

The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry is currently hearing evidence from those who suffered abuse within residential accommodation for young offenders and children.

The hearings cover a period from 1930 until 2014.

Lady Smith said the phase would be a "substantial case study" and go into most of 2024.

The inquiry continues.