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Sadistic foster mother's 19-year reign of terror
Last updated at 09:52am on 21.03.07A foster mother was found guilty today of subjecting three young children to a "horrifying catalogue of cruel and sadistic treatment".
Eunice Spry, 62, routinely beat, abused and starved the youngsters in her care over a 19 year period. The devout Jehovah's Witness forced sticks down their throats and made them eat their own vomit and rat excrement.
Eunice Spry regularly beat and starved children in her care
As punishment for misbehaving, she would beat them on the soles of their feet and force them to drink washing up liquid and bleach.
Spry, a pillar of her local community in Gloucestershire, staunchly denied all the claims made against her and insisted the only physical punishment she ever used was "a smack on the bottom".
But a jury at Bristol Crown Court convicted of a series of charges.
During the four-week trial the jury heard some harrowing evidence detailing how Spry had subjected the children to a regime of abuse.
The three victims, known as Victim A, B and C, all gave evidence describing how their daily routines were punctuated by random acts of bizarre and sadistic violence at the hands of their foster mother.
Kerry Barker, prosecuting, told how Victim A, now aged 21, was imprisoned in a wheelchair by the woman following a car crash.
The child's hand has been rubbed raw with sandpaper
Victim B, also 21, told how her foster mother would pull her hair and shove her face in her pet dog's faeces as punishment.
Victim C, now 18, described how his foster mother held his hand down on a hot electric hob until it was left looking like a "gooey mess".
He said he had been force-fed so much washing up liquid by Spry that he could now differentiate between the brands on taste alone.
The offences took place in two of Spry's homes in Gloucestershire between 1986 and 2005. Mr Barker, had told the jury: "On hearing the indictment the word that probably sticks in your mind is cruelty.
"That is what this case is about. It is a history of cruelty by Eunice Spry who was an adoptive mother over a long period of time."
Face injuries of Victim A
Victim A finally plucked up the courage to report her foster mother to the police who quickly interviewed Victim B and C.
Mr Barker added: "The outcome of the interviews was a horrifying catalogue of cruel and sadistic treatment.
"Most of the acts were carried out as punishment; others were inexplicable acts of cruelty."
He said the children would be regularly punished for minor acts of misbehaviour.
Mr Barker explained: "They were made to eat lard and drink washing up liquid poured down their throats.
They called it home: Spry's foster children lived in squalor, with little in the way of comforts
"If they were sick (she) would make them eat the vomit and they were made to eat rat excrement."
He said that Spry would regularly beat the children on the soles of the feet with a "variety of sticks".
They would be "punched kicked and strangled", and if they cried the sticks would be forced down their throats.
Mr Barker said Spry used unusual punishments such as making the children lean against the side of a wall.
The bedrooms in which Eunice Spry's foster children slept were strewn with rubbish
If they moved, the soles of their feet would again be beaten with the sticks.
Full cans of food would be thrown directly in their faces and they would have their heads forcibly held under the water while in the bath.
Victim A told how when she was a young girl her foster mother had fixed a sign to the back of one her dress to cause embarrassment in public. The message read: "This child is evil. Do not look at her or talk to her. She wets the bed and is an attention seeker."
Victim A was involved in a serious traffic accident in 2000. Doctors told the girl, who suffered horrific injuries, that she would be confined to a wheelchair for up to six months after the crash.
But medical experts who examined her soon found there was no physical reason why she could not walk.
Spry refused a series of tests to find out what was behind the girl's mysterious condition and deliberately hindered her recuperation in a cynical bid to maximise the compensation payout she could get from insurers.
In 2004, Child A fled from her foster mother and walked on the very same day. She later confessed that Spry had forced her to remain in the wheelchair since 2000.
Mr Barker said on one occasion Spry had forced Child C to place his hand over an electric ring on a cooker causing blistering.
He added that Spry was able to conceal her alleged reign of abuse as the children were home taught and not sent to school.
She has also terrified the children so much with her ritualistic abuse that they were too frightened to alert the authorities.
Spry covered her tracks by forbidding them to be examined on their own by doctors or dentists. She maintained her innocence throughout police interviews and during the subsequent trial.
Reader views (40)
Here's a sample of the latest views published.
It has taken me ages to finish Child C, I had to keep putting it down as it made me feel sick. I can not believe that these poor children had to go through so much torture for so many years Eunice Spry needed to get life not the little amount of seven years for putting these kids through hell. I really hope she goes to hell for what she has done to karen, Lulu an Christopher. As for these poor children i really hope you can one day be free of nightmares and be able to live a happy life after all you all deserve it good bless you
- Justine, London, England
i am yet to finish reading this book child c and i have to say it is one of the most hurendus thing i have read and i have read a thew of the true life storie i can not belive that a book i read and cryed over (a boy called it) was used as an addvice manual what a sick person she must be i hope that you have or will one day find happy ness in all your lifes my heart goes out to you
- Ema Hale, oxfordshire
i have jus finished reading "Deliver me from Evil" by Alloma Gilbert and it really makes me sick that someone could inflict such horrendous acts of violence onto anyone - let alone a child!
it really made me appreciate the upbringing that i had, with so much love and support. Alloma is actually my age exactly and i cant believe that in this day and age that social services let it go on - and they did get many, many 'tip offs' and they chose to ignore it! shame on them!
- Simone, Sunshine Coast, QLD - Aust
Have just finished reading Child C. This case is heartbreaking and alas is one of many that have come to light over the years.
Social services failed these children as did neighbours,teachers,family members,police and people associated with the family.
As a society in whole we have failed to protect those in need.
The understaffing of Social Services is appalling and their case loads are enormous.Australia is no different as are other countries the reason being lack of funding.Surprisingly enough the funds for New Year celebrations which are in the millions of dollars bracket we have no trouble finding.
Our government policies and funding need a complete overhaul what happened to these children and many like them is totally unacceptable.
Ok got that off my chest.In regard to the sentencing imposed what a travesty! Fourteen years that is less than the time this women spent torturing these children.
Having been associated with children who have been abused while in care I sincerely hope that these young people now have access to all the help they need.Not only from professionals but from the community as a whole.
Thank you Christopher for finding the strength to tell us your story.
- Cheryl, Newman,Western Australia
i have read child c and i am disgusted the way sprys treat them three kids. my heart goes out to them kids havin lived like that and treat in them horrific ways. i hope she rots in hell the evil beast i am also disapointed in the social services as to how they let it go on for so long they should of investigated more.its just so sad.go bless them
- Sonia Ghales, south shields
I read child c ,and i am once again disgusted with the british socil services.Oh my god how can any human be so cruel.
I wish child A child B and child C a better future without the evilness of Eunice Spry.May they now have a decent life.
- Therese O Neill, Dublin Ireland
i am currently reading child c and want to no why are people still getting away with these crimes for so long when social services are supposed to be so aware off what can take place in homes and the tell tale signs to look out for,this should not of gone on as long as it did.
- Jolene & Kelly, england,leeds
I read the book Child C, and am totally disgusted! It states she kept moving between a farm house and her own home in a bid to confuse social workers and doctors and police, and her house resembled a"dump site"then why was she allowed to continue fostering these kids? Surely foster parents are regularly checked on? And as soon as they realised she was unwilling to comply with social services with a dirty house, why were these kids not taken off her?
- Brooke Young, Edinburgh, Scotland,UK
She looks like that freaky mom in the Stephen King thriller "Carrie". In cases like this one really could easily support the whole "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth" argument.
- Leslie, Atlanta, USA
Perhaps she should get the same treatment as she meted out to her charges, for the rest of her life. She is clearly insane.
- Mary, Norway ME, USA
The children's services agency and the social worker that was responsible for this case should be held legally responsible as. They should be charged with out a doubt and certainly loose their ability to work in child and family welfare along with the fact that they should pay reparations and serve time in jail. The head of the agency as well should immediately to be forced to resign. Where is the accountability?
- Tiffany, San Francisco, California USA
This poor excuse for a woman should be subjected to every abuse she made these children endure. If these sickos had to go threw what they forced on the kids, we wouldn't have so many getting away with these horrors.
- Betty Kosegi, New Philadelphia, OH USA
Where were the authorities during all this time? If you can not only get three foster children, but also home school them, shouldn't the state make some sort of routine visits? I believe child services (or whatever you call it there) bears much responsibility in this matter for not catching this woman years ago. As for her, she should be sent here to the states for punishment, where we still believe in the death penalty. Sitting in a cell and praying for the next twenty years is too good for this monster!
- Darwin, Dillwyn ,VA
Having a license would have prevented this? She's a foster mother. Presumably, she already went through some kind of "process" that didn't weed her out. She deserves the maximum punishment allowed; then double it.
- Al, Fredericksburg, VA
Lifetime solitary confinement.
- Joan Cole, Dallas, USA
Mary, why should you need a license to have children? This sick woman had a "license" as the state checks out each foster parents. These were not her own children. If anything, this is a case for people needing to take responsiblity for their own children and NOT rely on the state.
- Craig, Las Vegas, NV
This is horrible! I feel for those poor children.
- Dori, Palm Harbor, US
This type of behavior digusts me. What kind of a twisted, pathetic, insecure person could treat children in such a manner? Why is that our society doesn't have tighter restrictions on becoming a foster parent? I think a life sentence in a federal pen. Should be the minimum punishment in this case. Maybe they should take sandpaper and use it on her for a while, maybe they can arrange to have some bleach ready for her when she goes to prision.
- Ryan, Bangor, Maine
Too bad she can't be sentenced to 19 years of the same treatment she gave those poor children. The electric chair is too good for this woman.
- Ray, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA
I just hope the people reading this realize that the horrifying and cruel offenses of this woman are NOT in any way representative of Christianity. This kind of abuse of children is NOT justified by anything in the Bible. If this sort of treatment of children is something promoted in the teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses then it is in no way a Christian or Godly group.
- T. A. Adams, Oklahoma City, USA
Who was the bureaucrat getting paid big bucks to watch over this foster care program for these 19 years? Didn't the have one telephone conversation that may have led to an on site visit? A call to a neighbor? Anything?
- John D, Merritt Island USA
There are some crimes for which no punishment seems truly sufficient...
- J, Idaho, USA
This is a prime example of the horrible state Child Protective Services is in. They are desperate enough for foster parents, they don't do routine and thorough check-ins and mental screenings of these parents. Basically willing warm body with a clear criminal back ground is good enough for kids who have already been through hell. Unfortunatley good foster parents are few and far between. Something needs to change, until then I pray for these children.
- Julie D, Houston, Texas
The evil that is by nature in every human heart is obvious in horrible cases such as this. Only by God's grace through the work of Jesus Christ can anyone be delivered from sin. We all must be born again of the Spirit of God. Clearly the religion of this alleged villain has not gained her such deliverance from evil. John 3:16 in the Bible is the only answer for our sin. We all must repent and be born from above by the power of God. Surely cases like this show that God's wrath is justified. This case is symptomatic of a world wide condition of rebellion against God. Romans 1 says that God gives evil people up to their own lusts because they refuse to honor and regard Him.
- Michael Friend, Oakland, USA
Where in hell were the social service people? Are they taking any ownership of this? When I was running a company, I had a rule to never hire anyone who had ever worked for the government. GI's excepted. This is an example of why I instituted that rule.
- Ron C Clair, Sarasota, Florida
Quiet! The Bush Admininstration could find out, promote her and send her to Guantanamo.
- Mike Hunt, Sanjaya, California
I know God has a special place in Hell for her. I can't wait until she's sent there.
- Richard, Mantorville, MN
They should beat her feet with sticks and make her eat rat faeces and her own vomit.
- Michael Balzary, New York City, USA
Prison is TOO good for this woman!
- Tina, Rogers, USA
Nice outfit granny! She looks like some character from the old Carol Burnett show. Hope she gets exactly the same treatment she gave those kids.
- Baz, Huntsville, AL, USA
She should be dragged in the streets, beaten into the ground and hung in public. She makes me sick!
- Mr. T, USA
What an evil person. Perhaps she should get a stick to the mouth and be forced to eat rat excrement? I'm glad those victims came forward... I hope Spry gets what's coming to her - a nice long stay behind bars far away from any children. Perhaps she should be limited to lard and bleach for supper?
- Damon, USA
This person needs some really mean roommates in PRISON.
- Carole, Sacramento, California
After reading this, I felt physically ill.
- Mike, Bloomsburg, PA, USA
She deserves the sentence.
- Shawn, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
What a sick, twisted pathetic soul. This woman is the perfect example as to why you should have to have a license before you have children.
- Mary Patterson, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Anything less than a life sentence would be plain wrong.
- Cathy, London
The is a very dangerous cult that teaches that children should be seen and not heard. This woman got away with this for twenty years. I am sure the congregation of Jehovah's Witnessess that she was in would know the abuse these poor dear children were suffering. I was in this cult and I know that each of us knew what was going on with each others children each week at our five meetings a week. I hope that she will be punished to the full extent of the law.
- Trudi Mcaskill, Stratford, Prince Edward Island Canada
Where were the local authority representatives whilst these children were supposedly being looked after?! Have they not heard of the CLIMBIE case?! How many of these social workers are still in their jobs?
- Phil Taylor, Tunbridge Wells Kent
"The devout Jehovah's Witness forced sticks down their throats and made them eat their own vomit and rat excrement".
I was raised in an abusive Jehovah's Witnesses home and although nothing this extreme it is telling that she got away for so long, under the nose of the Kingdom hall elders.
- Danielle, London
