A nun who subjected vulnerable children to a prolonged and sadistic regime of abuse at two Scottish care homes has been sent to prison.
A Campaign of Cruelty Uncovered
Carol Buirds, 75, known as Sister Carmel Rose during the 1970s, carried out her offences at homes run by the Catholic order the Sisters of Nazareth. The abuse occurred at facilities in Lasswade, Midlothian, and Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, as well as an unknown location in Dunbar, East Lothian, between September 1975 and May 1981.
Her catalogue of cruelty included kicking, punching, and striking children. She force-fed youngsters, rubbed urine-soaked bedding into their heads, and locked one child in an unlit cellar without food or water. Buirds also used implements such as a belt, stick, ruler, and slipper to assault her victims.
In one particularly disturbing instance, she repeatedly forced a child to eat soap and laughed as the victim tried to vomit. The trauma she inflicted was so severe that one child was left mute for five years, while another required hospitalisation for twelve months.
Justice After Decades
Following a five-week trial at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in November, Buirds, from Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, was found guilty. Sheriff Iain Nicol jailed her for 15 months, stating that her offending spanned five-and-a-half years and involved children aged seven to 15.
"The worst examples included repeatedly striking children’s heads off walls and kicking them to the head and body," Sheriff Nicol said.
Two other women were also convicted in connection with the case. Eileen McElhinney, 78, formerly Sister Mary Eileen, was found guilty of two assault charges and three counts of cruel and unnatural treatment. Her crimes included punching a young boy and repeatedly striking another child's buttocks with a hairbrush. McElhinney, of Bishopbriggs, Dunbartonshire, was ordered to complete 240 hours of unpaid work.
Dorothy Kane, 68, a retired children's home worker from Lasswade, was found guilty of cruel and unnatural treatment towards children and received a sentence of 150 hours of unpaid work.
Survivors Finally Believed
The sentencing brought a long-awaited measure of closure for the survivors. One who gave evidence against Buirds powerfully described the lasting impact of the abuse.
"There is only one word to describe my time at Nazareth House – fear," the survivor said. "No one wanted to hear about the abuse I endured and I have carried that trauma throughout my life alone. Until today."
They added, "It just felt right seeing the handcuffs on the woman who abused me as a child. Today I have been heard. Today and forever more I am believed."
This case highlights the enduring pain caused by historic institutional abuse and the profound importance of victims' voices being acknowledged in a court of law, even decades later.
