Orphanage Abusers Have Sentences Cut to Seven Months

The Times

A nun and care worker who abused vulnerable children at a Scottish orphanage have had their three-year prison sentences quashed. Sister Eileen Igoe, 79, and Margaret Hughes, 77, mistreated children at Smyllum Park in Lanark from 1969 until 1981 when it closed.

The orphanage has been at the centre of allegations of historical abuse. A number of former residents told Airdrie sheriff court that they had been mistreated at Smyllum during a six-week trial this year.

Sister Sarah McDermott, 79, was convicted of abuse alongside Igoe and Hughes.

After their conviction and sentencing, lawyers for Igoe and Hughes went to the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh to argue that the sentences imposed on their client were too harsh.