News · 24 August 2026
Three adults avoid jail for years of child abuse
Unsplash / Tingey Injury Law Firm
No prison sentences were given to a mother, grandmother, and stepfather, despite their years of abuse against three children. Shirley Freeman, Julia Stephen, and David McColl were sentenced at Aberdeen Sheriff Court on Monday for crimes committed between 2003 and 2012. The victims, now adults, described being beaten, starved, and psychologically tormented.
Reported by BBC · How we write briefs