Pair jailed for neglecting and assaulting children
- Published
Curran and McCall were both jailed for a year at Glasgow Sheriff Court
A man and woman who left four young children hungry in a rubbish-strewn house have both been jailed for a year.
Shane Curran, 47, and Nicola McCall, 44, were found guilty of neglecting the children, three of whom were also physically assaulted, while living at a house in Glasgow's southside.
One said she was forced to steal money simply to get something to eat.
Jurors heard the children were exposed to drugs - including amphetamine - in the house.
And a girl described being "rag-dolled" by McCall in her evidence to the pair's trial.
Curran and McCall were both previously found guilty by a jury at Glasgow Sheriff Court of wilfully ill-treating and neglecting all four children, and also of assaulting one girl.
The jury further found Curran guilty of assaulting a boy and McCall another of the girls.
The offences were committed between April 2010 and August 2016.
Curran and McCall were sentenced to 12 months each by Sheriff Stuart Reid.
The sheriff said: "I'm satisfied that custody is the only appropriate option having regard to the nature of the offences."
In her speech to jurors, fiscal Carrie Stevens said there was a "consistent failure" by Curran and McCall to keep the victims "safe and comfortable" when they were with them.
The pair's house was described as "chaotic and sub-standard".
Pre-recorded evidence from the children speaking about their ordeals was played during the trial.
One of the girls described the property as "disgusting" and said that Curran and McCall "did not clean or really care".
The court heard there was "never any food in the cupboards" with the children "regularly deprived".
The girl said: "I had to steal £100 to get food for me (and the other children) for about two days."
Two of the youngsters also ended up suffering from severe head lice.
Jurors were told some of the victims were regularly punched, kicked, pulled and dragged by the hair.
The mood of Curran and McCall, of the city's Maryhill, were said to change when they took drugs.
'Bashed my head'
Describing one incident with McCall, the girl said: "She rag-dolled me, flung me on to the ground and bashed my head off the door."
The trial also heard that illicit substances lying in the property were left on open display in the house, and that one of the girls was once left unsupervised on a balcony.
Ms Stevens told jurors: "You might remember (one of the girls) saying Curran and McCall 'did not care, so they did anything they wanted'.
"You might think that sums up the attitude of both and the sadness, frustration and confusion felt by the children."
Curran and McCall denied the charges while effectively claiming the victims were lying about the violence.
Elaine Rae, defending Curran, told the sentencing: "He accepts a degree of neglect on the children and expresses his remorse about that.
"He is described as being disgusted with himself in relation to that."
Advocate Neil Shand, defending McCall, said: "I genuinely don't think that she did not care about the children and their welfare.
"There is no doubt the children are better off where they are now than where they were.
"This is something that has affected her greatly and she will suffer for the rest of her life."