A Kirkcaldy man who told a charity worker he had merely given children “wee dunts here and there” after years of assaults has been jailed for 18 months.
Kevin Sinclair was found guilty of hitting children and tying their hands with cable ties following a four-day trial in January.
Sinclair had denied offences which took place between 2009 and 2018.
However, the 44-year-old was found to have struck one child on the body with a belt, as well as repeatedly striking the youngster on the head and body for almost a decade.
Sinclair also assaulted three other children in the same way.
He belted and struck one child on various occasions from a date in 2009, repeatedly striking the head and body.
He assaulted two others.
Allegations the children were injured as a result of the attacks were all dropped.
The jury found Sinclair bound children with cable ties “or similar bindings”.
The majority of jurors agreed Sinclair wilfully ill-treated the children in “a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering or injury to health” over an eight-year period.
Sinclair compelled the children to kneel on the floor with their hands behind their backs, which he bound.
Sinclair was cleared of allegations he forced the children to eat off the floor while their hands were tied behind their backs.
The children cannot be named for legal reasons.
‘Disturbing evidence’
Fiscal depute Claire Bremner told Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court Sinclair was interviewed by Barnardo’s to discuss his own childhood.
She said: “During the course of that meeting, the accused told Barnardo’s he gave [the] bairns a wee dunt here and there.”
Ms Bremner said at this point, police were contacted.
The court heard Sinclair’s only previous offences were an assault in 2002, which was dealt with by means of an admonition and driving without insurance four years later.
Sheriff Alastair Brown said Sinclair’s comments to Barnardo’s set “alarm bells ringing” and said some of the evidence was “very disturbing”.
