The sentencing of seven people convicted last year of being part of a Scottish child abuse ring has been postponed until January though a judge has said he wishes to see no delay beyond that.
The two women and five men were all convicted in November 2023 of the gang rape of a child and abusing other children in a drugs den in Glasgow where heroin and crack cocaine were used.
Iain Owens, 46; Elaine Lannery, 40; Lesley Williams, 43; Paul Brannan, 42; Scott Forbes, 51; Barry Watson, 48; and John Clark, 48, were convicted following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.
Four of the group: Owens, Lannery, Brannan and Williams, were found guilty of attempting to murder a child by pushing her into a microwave and trapping her in other places.
Barry Watson, Elaine Lannery, and Iain Owens, top row left to right, and John Clark, Paul Brannan, and Scott Forbes, bottom row left to right, were convicted of a string of offences (Police Scotland/PA)
Sentencing was delayed until December this year while risk assessments were carried out, which judge Lord Beckett had ordered due to the severity of the crimes.
They were due to be sentenced on Monday at the High Court in Glasgow but lawyers representing Owens and Forbes took issue with the reports produced by risk assessors appointed by the Crown.
A hearing has been set for January 6 when evidence relating to the risk assessment reports will be heard.
All seven are then expected to be sentenced on January 27.
Lord Beckett said: “I am not minded to allow any further delay beyond that.”
The trial, which lasted about eight weeks, heard evidence of systematic child sex abuse, described as “harrowing” by Lord Beckett who said it “plunges to the depths of human depravity”.
He previously said he was considering whether to impose orders for lifelong restriction, which monitors high-risk offenders for the rest of their lives if they are deemed suitable for release from prison after serving a minimum punishment period.
The offences, involving three children, happened between 2012 and 2019.
Tony Lenehan KC, representing Brannan, was the only lawyer to give a plea in mitigation on Monday.
The court heard that Brannan has been assessed as being of high risk.
However, Mr Lenehan said that, when deciding whether to impose an order for lifelong restriction, the judge would have to consider the risk at a distant point in the future as he could be jailed for 20 years or more.
Mr Lenehan said: “Your Lordship then has to predict risk at a point in time further in the future than would ordinarily be the case.
“These are crimes which can be described as being of extreme depravity.”
Co-accused Marianne Gallagher, 40, was found guilty of assaulting a child and her sentence was deferred at an earlier hearing until January 6 2025.