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Foster mother guilty of cruelty Foster mother guilty of cruelty
(30 minutes later)
A foster mother who punished three children in her care by ramming sticks down their throats has been convicted of abuse spanning 20 years. A foster mother who punished three young children in her care by ramming sticks down their throats has been convicted of abuse spanning 20 years.
Eunice Spry, 62, from Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire, was convicted of 26 charges and cleared of 12 charges.Eunice Spry, 62, from Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire, was convicted of 26 charges and cleared of 12 charges.
The prosecution said Spry's treatment was "horrifying" and "sadistic."The prosecution said Spry's treatment was "horrifying" and "sadistic."
Gloucestershire Safeguarding Children Board said: "She deliberately set out to deceive...all of the agencies involved over a 20-year period." Detective Constable Victoria Martell said: "When the defendant was arrested, she was completely calm...her lack of emotion was very chilling."
The offences took place in two of Spry's homes in Gloucestershire between 1986 and 2005.The offences took place in two of Spry's homes in Gloucestershire between 1986 and 2005.
She was found guilty at Bristol Crown Court of a range of charges from unlawful wounding, cruelty to a person under 16, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, perverting the course of justice and witness intimidation.She was found guilty at Bristol Crown Court of a range of charges from unlawful wounding, cruelty to a person under 16, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, perverting the course of justice and witness intimidation.
The jury heard that the children were forced to drink bleach and eat their own vomit.The jury heard that the children were forced to drink bleach and eat their own vomit.
Spry, who denied all the charges, told the court: "I'm quite a strict parent, I would say what I mean.
"Yes means yes, and no means no. If you promise a child a treat, you give them one.
"Likewise if you say 'You don't do that or there will be consequences', however heartbroken the child is, or I am, I would still go on with it," she said.
Constant punishmentConstant punishment
One of the foster children told a news conference how his childhood was "incredibly tough" and that he was never able to do anything good enough to please his foster mother. One of the foster children told a news conference: "She'd always punish me for the slightest thing. These punishments would be anything from being forced to stay awake all night and constantly being beaten with sticks and poles all over my body.
"She'd always punish me for the slightest thing. These punishments would be anything from being forced to stay awake all night and constantly being beaten with sticks and poles all over my body.
"It was agonising but we had to get used to it. I was deprived of mixing with other children my age. My foster mother never showed me any love or encouragement, only negativity or abuse."It was agonising but we had to get used to it. I was deprived of mixing with other children my age. My foster mother never showed me any love or encouragement, only negativity or abuse.
"She locked me up in the bedroom once with my sister for about a month. I can't even remember what I had supposedly done wrong," he said. "She locked me up in the bedroom once with my sister for about a month. I can't even remember what I had supposedly done wrong."
Spry, a devout Jehovah's witness, denied all the claims made against her and said the only physical punishment she ever used was "a smack on the bottom". In a statement Jo Grills, chair of Gloucestershire Safeguarding Children Board (GSCB), said: "Eunice Spry is someone who other parents trusted with their children. She deliberately set out to deceive those parents and all of the agencies involved over a 20-year period.
Shared information
"Although these children were seen by many different professionals, few were a consistent presence. Information was not shared so that it was impossible for anyone to have a clear picture.
"As a result of the Victoria Climbie enquiry, one of the significant safeguards now in place is the requirement for agencies to work far more closely together and for information to be shared."
Spry, who denied all the charges, told the court: "I sweated buckets for these children. I've worked non-stop. I love them. I still love them.
"Anyone who met these three children would say they've grown up to be fine respectable adults. That's what I aimed to do and that's what I think I did to them."
Judge Simon Darwall-Smith adjourned the case to allow pre-sentence reports to be prepared.
Spry was remanded in custody until the sentencing hearing at Bristol Crown Court at a date to be fixed.