Woman's neglect caused hungry boy to eat paint from ceiling

A woman who caused a young boy to be fed paint from a ceiling after making him go to bed hungry has been jailed for 32 months.

The boy - aged between five and eight - was also made to eat cat food while in the care of Yvonne Keenan at her home in Maryhill, Glasgow.

Three other children - who are all now adults - were severely punished by Keenan, 56, which included being made to face a wall for long periods of time.

Keenan pleaded guilty to cruel and unnatural treatment of children at Glasgow Sheriff Court.

The four charges spanned between 1994 and March 2001.

The court heard that the boy and a girl - now aged 32 - were frequently not fed by Keenan and sent to bed hungry.

Prosecutor Sean Docherty said: "The girl remembers the boy crying because he was so hungry and she did not know what to do.

"She decided to scrape paint off the ceiling from the top bunk and fed it to him.

"She described this as an act of desperation to help him as she did not know what else to do."

On another occasion, the girl recalled the boy pushing a button in the kitchen which was not allowed.

Mr Docherty added: "As a consequence, Keenan forced the boy to eat cat food which was lying in the kitchen."

The girl also told of being made to stand in the dark kitchen overnight and was "too scared to move".

Keenan was violent towards her, in attacks which included dragging her off a bed and causing her head to strike a radiator.

The victim also remembered being "physically force-fed" cereal and milk.

Mr Docherty said: "To this day, she cannot consume milk due to this experience."

Another girl - now aged 38 - stated Keenan was violent towards her, which included shaking and throwing her around.

She was also slapped on the face when Keenan overheard a telephone call which referenced alcohol.

A boy - now aged 36 - claimed "disciplinarian" Keenan would poke him on the body if he did not return home from school in a set time.

He was also made to stand and stare at a wall for hours as well as be without dinner.

Sheriff Michael Hanlon told Keenan it was "hard to imagine how scared, confused and alone" the children must have felt.

He said: "The offences took place over a number of years and involved vulnerable children at a time when they most needed care, protection, nurturing and love.

"You provided none of these. Instead, in a mixture of cowardice and cruelty you inflicted hunger, fear, humiliation and pain, both physical and emotional, upon them."

The sheriff said the victims were still dealing with the emotional and psychological impact of their ordeals.

He also commended their bravery and the support they gave each other, both at the time and during the police investigation.