Crown to examine sentencing of trio guilty of 'house of terrors' child abuse

The crown is considering an appeal after three people were handed non-custodial sentences in a child cruelty case described in court as a “house of terrors”.

Meaghann and William Murphy, along with their younger sister Rebekah Simpson, were subjected to cruel and unnatural treatment at homes in Balloch and Aberdeen, at the hands of their mother, Shirley Freeman, grandmother Julia Stephen and step-father David McColl.

All three were handed non-custodial sentences at Aberdeen Sheriff Court on Monday.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) has said it is now considering the sentence.

Jurors heard that the abuse took place at homes in Balloch and Aberdeen and affected all three siblings.

William, now 25, told the court he had been subjected to regular beatings with belts and pinned by the neck.

He also described being forced to stand in a doorway while violence took place around him.

Meaghann, now 28, told jurors she had carried guilt for years because she was the eldest child and felt unable to protect her younger brother and sister.

One of the most shocking aspects of the evidence involved a story the children said was used to terrorise them.

William and Meaghann said their grandmother claimed to have met a woman called “Charlotte” in prison. According to the children’s account, they were told Charlotte had drowned and dismembered her five children and was now a ghost who watched them constantly.

William said they were led to believe adults in the household could communicate telepathically with the dead child killer.

The court heard that knives were sometimes used to reinforce the fear. Both siblings said blades had been left under their pillows, and Meaghann said she once woke to find a meat cleaver in her bed.

A jury found Stephen guilty of three charges involving the siblings, including striking one of the girls with a metal-studded belt and using the story of “Charlotte” to frighten the children.

Freeman was convicted of three charges, including depriving the children of food, leaving them outside on a cold veranda while undressed and repeatedly striking them with a belt and belt buckle.

A third accused, David McColl, had pleaded guilty before the trial to three charges of cruel and unnatural treatment of the children.

The jury returned majority guilty verdicts after almost six hours of deliberations.

McColl was sentenced to 220 hours of unpaid work, 18 months of probation, and an 11-month restriction of liberty order, as a direct alternative to custody.

Stephen was ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and given 18 months’ probation.

And Freeman was sentenced to 18 months’ probation, 240 hours of unpaid work, and a 12-month restriction of liberty order, as a direct alternative to custody.

A spokesperson for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said: “Sentencing decisions are made by the sheriff. The law only allows COPFS to appeal in very rare circumstances.

“As with all cases, COPFS will consider the sentence and determine whether it might meet the legal test of being unduly lenient.”