Glasgow Foster Couple Convicted in 'House of Horrors' Child Abuse Case
A Glasgow couple who fostered approximately one hundred children have been found guilty of subjecting their vulnerable charges to what a sheriff described as "the most unspeakable abuse" at their Parkhead home. Douglas Daniel, aged eighty, and Barbara Daniel, seventy-five, now residing in Kent, were convicted on six charges of cruel and unnatural treatment of a child following a trial at Glasgow Sheriff Court.
Systematic Cruelty Uncovered After Decades
The court heard harrowing testimony from several victims who came forward to detail the abuse they endured between 1986 and 1991. The Daniels, who had denied all allegations, first began fostering in 1986 when they took in two sisters aged nine and four. What was supposed to provide a safe haven instead became a nightmare environment where children were tormented and subjected to degrading punishments.
Prosecutor Ryan Watson told the court that the couple "punished these children and showed no compassion or care" in what he described as a complete betrayal of trust. The vulnerable children, removed from their original caregivers, were instead placed in what Sheriff Louise Arrol KC unequivocally labelled "a house of horrors."
Disturbing Accounts of Animal Pen Confinement
One of the most shocking revelations involved the forced confinement of children in animal enclosures. A woman who was fostered as a child testified that her four-year-old sister, who had a fear of chickens, was locked inside a chicken coop in the back garden. "They locked the door from the outside. I tried to get her as my sister was screaming," she told the court, identifying Douglas Daniel as the person who forced her sister to remain with the animals while Barbara assisted by holding her hair and helping to secure the door.
The prosecutor detailed how "the four-year-old was desperate to get out and was being pushed back inside" while "petrified, screaming to get out." The victim testified that this traumatic experience continues to affect her life today, stating she "cannot take her own children to a farm due to that experience."
Forced Feeding and Degrading Treatment
Further disturbing evidence emerged regarding forced consumption of animal parts and other degrading punishments. One fifty-three-year-old woman recounted being made to eat geese eggs when she spoke back to the Daniels, with refusal resulting in being placed outside where geese would attack her. "The geese could tell you were scared of them and attack you," she testified, describing how Barbara Daniel would deliberately position children in front of the aggressive birds.
Another victim described being forced to bathe in an outdoor bath where birds would bathe and defecate, with Barbara pushing her in and laughing while she was only allowed to exit "when Barbara had her fun." The same victim was forced to eat cow's tongue intended for ferrets after her Sunday roast was taken away, recalling it as "the most disgusting thing she ever seen" with visible taste buds on the grey organ meat.
Pattern of Abuse and Control
The court heard that these incidents formed part of a broader pattern of abusive behaviour. Additional testimony revealed that Douglas Daniel slapped one of the girls and made her strip naked to check for injuries, while other children were locked in their rooms with alarmed windows and forbidden from locking toilet doors. The prosecutor emphasised that the Daniels "were the real animals" in their treatment of the children entrusted to their care.
Court Condemnation and Pending Sentencing
Sheriff Arrol delivered a powerful condemnation of the couple's actions, stating: "I cannot understand human beings behaving in this way let alone towards children. Your youngest victim was just four years old." She commended the victims for their courage in coming forward to "relive lifelong trauma" and noted that "today justice has caught up with you."
The sheriff also highlighted Douglas Daniel's previous criminal record for dishonesty, remarking on the remarkable fact that he had been trusted with children despite this history. The couple, who were convicted unanimously by the jury, are awaiting sentencing in March following the preparation of background reports, with their bail continued in the interim period.
