Eleven accused of child sex abuse ring and 'witchcraft' in Glasgow
- Published
Eleven people are accused of taking part in a child sex abuse ring which allegedly involved witchcraft, violence and neglect.
Seven men and four women are charged with abusing three young children in Glasgow during a 10-year period.
It was claimed the children were raped at different times while some of the group did "clap, cheer and verbally encourage" as well as video it.
One young girl was said to have been shut in a microwave.
It is also alleged the children were forced to take part in satanic "seances" and made to kill animals.
At the hearing at the High Court in Glasgow, the accused faced a 14-page indictment listing 43 different charges which allegedly happened between January 2010 and March 2020 in Glasgow.
Iain Owens, 43, Elaine Lannery, 38, Lesley Williams, 40, Paul Brannan, 40, Marianne Gallagher, 37, Scott Forbes, 49, Barry Watson, 46, Mark Carr, 49, Richard Gachagan, 44, Leona Laing, 50, and John Clark, 46, deny the charges they face.
Mr Owens and Ms Lannery first face a charge of neglecting the three youngsters along with another child.
Witchcraft
Prosecutors state all 11 are said to have got the boy and the older girl to take part in "seances (and) use a Ouija board...to call on spirits and demons".
They also allegedly got the children involved in "witchcraft", leading them to believe that they themselves had "metamorphosed into animals".
The 11 are further said to have worn cloaks and devil horns as well making the young boy stab a budgie to death.
The group are also accused of killing a number of dogs, including getting the children to attack the animals.
The group face further separate drugs charges.
Mr Gachagan is finally accused of lewd behaviour towards another young girl in the mid-1990s in Glasgow.
Maureen Goudie, Steven McHendrie, Robert Brown, James McLean and Douglas Gachagan are also mentioned as being involved in a number of the charges.
But, the indictment states they are now "deceased".
Judge Lord Beckett set an eight-week trial at the High Court in Glasgow for September next year.
A further hearing was also fixed for October.