Carol Buirds, Eileen McElhinney, Dorothy Kane: Former nuns, support worker guilty of horrific child abuse

Two former nuns and one ex-support worker who inflicted horrific abuse on children have learned their fates in court.

The three women committed their offences between 1972 and 1981, and were only charged four decades on after a complex investigation.

The most serious offending was committed by Carol Buirds, 75, who was known as Sister Carmel Rose.

She was found guilty of locking a child in an unlit cellar, leaving them terrified and without access to water.

This was just one instance of abuse which took place over a five and a half year period at two homes in Lasswade and Kilmarnock in Scotland, which were both run by the Catholic order The Sisters of Nazareth.

Buirds rubbed “urine soaked bedding into the heads of children” according to the sentencing statement made by Sheriff Iain Nicol.

She repeatedly struck children’s heads off walls, hit them with belts, sticks, rulers and slippers, and punched and kicked them in their heads and on their bodies.

“On many occasions the children were injured and on one occasion severely injured,” Sheriff Nicol said.

Shockingly, Buirds also locked children in cupboards, force fed them, made them sit in cold baths and used a floor brush to was them.

Because of the severity of her crimes, Buirds was sentenced to 15 months of imprisonment, after mitigating factors lowered the 30 month sentence Sheriff Nicol had initially deemed appropriate.

“You are in denial and have shown no remorse whatsoever,” Sheriff Nicol said during Buirds’ sentencing on January 15.

“You tried to cast doubt on the truthfulness of the complainers and told the probation officer that all the children came from 2 families and may have corroborated the accounts of one another.”

Eileen McElhinney, another former nun, had been known as Sister Mary Eileen.

The 78-year-old was found guilty of five charges, including two instances of assault.

“The worst examples of your offending involved striking and punching children on the body, causing one to fall to the ground, repeatedly kicking and jumping on a child’s body, forcing children to take a cold shower or sit in a cold bath, seizing children by their clothing, hair or arms and dragging them as well as repeatedly slapping them,” Sheriff Nicol said.

“Suffering and injury were caused by you.”

Sheriff Nicol said the children that were being cared for were there because they had experienced difficulty in their family lives.

“They needed, and were entitled to expect, care and nurturing to help them through a difficult period in their lives. You were in a position of trust. You abused that trust by physically abusing them.”

McElhinney was deemed to be a very low risk of re-offending, as there was no suggestion she had continued her abusive practice after the two and half year period in which these crimes occurred.

She was placed on 12 months probation and ordered to complete 240 hours of unpaid work while being subject to a curfew.

Former support worker Dorothy Kane, 68, was also found guilty of abuse carried out for over a year.

She had dragged a boy along a corridor before restraining him and placing her knee on his chest. She also seized his hair and “failed to intervene when another person assaulted him”.

Kane also locked a 10-year-old child in a cupboard.

The 68-year-old was assessed to be at a low risk for re-offending and was ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work.

Buirds, McElhinney and Kane were referred to Scottish Ministers to consider whether they should be placed on the Children’s Register.

Sheriff Nicol paid tribute to the victims during the sentencing.

“I wish to pay tribute to all the complainers who gave evidence in this case. It was clear that some had been giving statements to police over many years,” he said.

“In doing so memories which had been locked away and buried came to the fore and had to be re-lived. The prosecution has been an arduous process for most if not all and they are to be commended for their bravery and fortitude in assisting the prosecution.”