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September 28, 2000
January 7, 2001 |
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United Kingdom: Scotland
Friday
September 9, 2000
14:50 GMT
NUN DENIES HOME WAS 'LIKE A PRISON'
A nun accused of cruelty has denied that a children's home was
run like a prison.
Marie Docherty said the Nazareth House home in Midlothian was
the exact opposite.
On her third day of evidence, she told Aberdeen Sheriff Court it had
been an open house for neighbours and friends of the children.
The nun also denied an earlier claim from an alleged victim that she
had been a schemer and a manipulator - and told of the strain the
case had placed on her.
The accused, who was known as Sister Alphonso but now prefers
Sister Marie, denies 21 charges of cruelty towards children over a
15-year period at Nazareth House homes in Aberdeen and Midlothian.
Giving evidence on Friday, she rejected allegations that she had gone
into raging moods.
Docherty said she had shown affection towards the girls in her care and
would kiss and cuddle the younger children.
But she never wanted to take the place of their parents, she told the
court.
She did admit to sometimes tapping girls on the head with a hairbrush
when she was brushing their hair and punishing one girl who had run away from
the home by not talking to her all day.
The accused has also told the trial of the strain she has been under
since she was first charged.
She said the worst part had been when she was suspended from her job
working with elderly people at a home in Aberdeen.
The old people had been her life and they had been very upset, she said.
Families of residents at the Nazareth House home for the elderly in
Aberdeen had wanted to wage a campaign in her support, but she had asked them not to do
so.
After the start of her trial she was diagnosed with a heart condition.
Asked by her counsel what she would like to do after the trial, Docherty
broke down briefly and replied she would like to go back to working with elderly
people.
She said she would like to stay in Aberdeen, but admitted she had lost a lot of her
confidence.
The trial, which is in its fourth week, was adjourned until Monday.
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