A mother, grandmother, and stepfather who subjected three children to years of abuse have avoided jail sentences. Shirley Freeman, 51, Julia Stephen, 69, and David McColl, 50, were sentenced at Aberdeen Sheriff Court.
The victims were beaten, starved, and psychologically tormented between 2003 and 2012. Freeman and Stephen were found guilty of cruel and unnatural treatment, while McColl admitted the crimes.
McColl received 220 hours of unpaid work, 18 months probation, and an 11-month restriction of liberty order. Stephen was ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and given 18 months probation. Freeman was sentenced to 18 months probation, 240 hours of unpaid work, and a 12-month restriction of liberty order.
Sheriff Craig Findlater stated that no sentence could "repair the awful childhoods" of the victims. The abuse took place at an address in Balloch, Dunbartonshire, and a flat in Aberdeen's Bedford Avenue.