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Nun convicted of abuse at child home denies wrongdoing in newly released police interview
A former nun and an ex-support worker who were found guilty of abuse at a child home denied wrongdoing in newly released police interviews.
Nuns Carol Buirds, 75, known as Sister Carmel Rose, and Eileen McElhinney, 78, who was known as Sister Mary Eileen, as well as ex-support worker Dorothy Kane, 68, were found guilty of subjecting multiple victims to cruel and unnatural treatment over nine years, following a trial at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in November.
The offences took place at two homes in Lasswade, Midlothian, and Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, run by the Catholic order the Sisters of Nazareth between the early 1970s and early 1980s. The victims, who are all now adults, were aged between five and 14 when the abuse began.
During a five-week trial, police interviews of Kane and McElhinney were played, which show both women denying involvement and any knowledge of a “punishment book”.
McElhinney was found guilty of five charges, including violently assaulting young children, whilst Kane was found guilty of two charges of cruel and unnatural treatment for repeatedly grabbing a boy, including by the hair, and restraining him by forcing her knees onto his chest.
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