Eleven individuals are facing charges based on accusations made by four children, detailing incidents of rape and sexual abuse that allegedly occurred in a Glasgow drugs den.
The High Court in the city has been witness to an eight-week trial, during which disturbing allegations spanning several years have emerged. The accusations include gang rape, forced sexual activity, and physical abuse.
Four of the accused – Iain Owens, Elaine Lannery, Lesley Williams, and Paul Brannan – are alleged to have attempted to murder a girl. The charges include horrifying acts such as placing her in a microwave, forcing her to eat dog food, hanging her by her clothes from a nail, and chasing her with individuals wearing a devil mask. These incidents are said to have taken place between December 2015 and June 2019. Additionally, the accused are alleged to have stabbed dogs to death and forced two children to stab them in 2018.
The accused, including Marianne Gallagher, Scott Forbes, Barry Watson, Mark Carr, Richard Gachagan, Leona Laing, and John Clark, deny all charges against them.
The offences are said to have occurred between 2010 and 2020 at various locations in Glasgow, with the first incident involving a child alleged to have taken place in 2012. One of the children gave unsettling evidence, mentioning, “Two witches [held] my legs down, it felt uncomfortable, all the witches and wizards were watching.”
The Crown emphasised the severity of the allegations, stating that it would have been “off the scale devious” to fabricate such claims. An earlier allegation involving the use of a Ouija board for “witchcraft” was dropped.
As the jury began deliberations, Judge Lord Beckett instructed them to consider the “intensity of denials” from the accused and evaluate the clarity and confidence expressed regarding DNA analysis.
