Editorial Warning: This story contains details about psychological, sexual, and physical abuse of children.
GLASGOW, Scotland – Eleven individuals are on trial at the High Court in Glasgow for sexually abusing children. They are alleged to have sexually assaulted the children while also forcing them to participate in séances using Ouija boards and “call on spirits and demons.” One victim accuses them of being “witches.” The accused group denies all charges.
The trial is not connected to yet reminiscent of the Satanic Panic of the 1980s and early 1990s during which there was widespread fear and hysteria about alleged Satanic ritual abuse and Satanic cults.
The trial in Scotland involved seven men and four women who face a combined 32 charges. The accused have been identified as Iain Owens, 45; Elaine Lannery, 39; Lesley Williams, 41; Paul Brannan, 41; Marianne Gallagher, 38; Scott Forbes, 50; Barry Watson, 47; Mark Carr, 50; Richard Gachagan, 45; Leona Laing, 51; and John Clark, 47. The assaults allegedly took place over the course of a decade between January 2010 and October 2020.
According to the allegations, the child victims were forced into “witchcraft” classes. One victim says that the accused would point wands at the children uttering spells that would transform them into animals according to court documents.
“I didn’t like it when all the witches pointed their wands at me,” one girl said of the rituals, according to the BBC. She would have been preschool-age at the time of the assault.
Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (Scotland) [CCA-SA 3.0]
Older victims allege that there was a large group of witches who put a spell on the girl every day to make her a different animal. They also added that a line of people would blow smoke on the girl’s face.
Complicating the matter is that the children are said to have made the allegations of a man who befriended the children through his work and church. He is said to have taken notes which he then sent to police and social workers. The man says he often saw the children with his wife and upon hearing the stories began to document them.
The man sent the notes in a series of emails to Police Scotland.
The man wrote in his notes that the girl alleged she was locked in a cupboard with “beetles and spiders in it” and imprisoned in a freezer as well as in a microwave and an oven. The man’s notes reportedly state that older children helped the girls escape the oven while also adjusting the temperature of the padlocked freezer while the girl was not in it to keep it warm as the freezer incident happened often. Five of the 11 accused had attempted murder charges added as a result.
In addition to the Ouija board use, séances, and other “occult practices”, the suspects are accused of chasing the children wearing a devil mask. The older children also allegedly told the man the group of the accused referred to as “the coven” not only killed dogs in front of them but also forced two of the children to stab the dogs themselves. At least one child was allegedly told to “act like a dog” and eat pet food in a “beastie house”.
The Glasgow High Court in Scotland via Google Maps
The older children are reported to have told the man that they had been sexually assaulted multiple times during “rape nights”, and “dance and sex nights”. Sky News reported that suspects would allegedly “clap, cheer and verbally encourage.”
A boy witness said that the group would videotape the events. He described physical assaults noting, “They all arrived at the same time – like it was planned.” He added “They just punched us all, whacked us with pans. The kind of pans you put beans in, pots.”
While listening to the notes read back in court last week, the man “That is a nightmare in real-time. Listening to that, it is quite distressing.”.
Prosecutor Kath Harper asked the man if the children got upset when discussing any of the accusations.
The witness replied: “[One of them did] a couple of times about things that happened, but, the majority of occasions, it was just very much matter of fact… like replaying it in their minds, talking it over.”
Defense counsel for Iain Owens, Gary Allan, later asked the man, “You were driven by your principles and conscience to do what you could to help them?”
The man replied he did. Then, Mr. Allan noted to the man that there was “no hint” of allegations of abuse or witchcraft when he first got to know the children.
The man agreed there was none.
The trial continues.
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