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A couple from Livingston, West Lothian, has been sentenced to prison and added to the sex offenders register after being found guilty of neglecting children in their care and engaging in inappropriate sexual conduct in their presence. Robert Hay, 58, and Isabel Irvine, 54, faced a jury at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, where they were convicted following a two-week trial.
The court heard that the couple failed to provide adequate food and supervision for the children, leaving them alone for extended periods. Specifically, Irvine was found guilty of sexually assaulting a child by attempting to penetrate their anus with a remote control device during several incidents that occurred between 2013 and 2016 at various locations in West Lothian, including Armadale and Bathgate.
The pair were accused of making crude sexual comments towards one child and were reported to have engaged in sexual activities while the children were present. Despite the allegations, Hay and Irvine denied all charges and claimed the children had fabricated the accusations.
Sheriff Iain Nicol oversaw the sentencing on Monday, stating that the couple’s actions had a “profound and lifelong effect” on the victims. Hay was sentenced to 15 months in prison, while Irvine received a longer sentence of 24 months due to the severity of her offences. Both have been placed on the sex offenders register for a period of ten years.
Sheriff Nicol highlighted the manner in which Hay “wilfully ill-treated and neglected” the children over several years, which constituted unnecessary suffering. He further noted that Irvine’s conduct involved a series of serious sexual offences, leading to a harsher penalty.
In addition to their prison sentences, non-harassment orders were imposed, preventing the couple from contacting their victims for five years. Their names have also been forwarded to Scottish Ministers to be added to the list of individuals barred from working with children or vulnerable adults in the future.
Following the verdicts, it was noted that Irvine had to leave her home due to protests from the local community. Sheriff Nicol also offered counselling services to the jury members due to the distressing nature of the evidence they had to assess during the trial.
