BARRY NURSERY WORKER GEMMA MCFEE SENTENCED FOR ABUSIVE ACTS INVOLVING TWIN BABIES IN ARBROATH

In a disturbing case that has shocked the local community, Gemma McFee, a nursery worker from Barry, Angus, was convicted of heinous acts involving twin babies in Arbroath. The incident, which took place in June 2018, involved McFee sitting on the young children, causing them significant distress and potential danger to their lives. The court proceedings revealed a series of troubling details about her actions and the manipulative communications she had with a man named Andrew Kerr.

McFee, who was 25 at the time and unemployed, appeared in Dundee Sheriff Court last November to face charges of assaulting the 16-month-old twins—a boy and a girl—by sitting on them and applying excessive pressure. The court was shown video clips where she placed cushions on the children and sat on their bodies, including their heads, with some clips lasting from four to forty seconds. These videos depicted her increasing the weight on the children, who initially appeared to be giggling but soon became visibly distressed, crying out and struggling to escape her grasp.

During the court session, prosecutor Kirsten Letford described how McFee had been manipulated by Kerr, who had posed as a film stuntman and initially paid her to stand on him for a supposed film project. However, Kerr then incited her to sit on the babies for financial gain, providing her with detailed instructions and requesting recordings of the acts. The court heard that Kerr had encouraged her to sit on the children’s heads and smother them, suggesting that the more graphic the clips, the higher her earnings would be.

Facebook conversations between Kerr and McFee were read aloud in court, revealing Kerr’s explicit instructions. On June 18, 2018, Kerr advised her to start on the bed or sofa to apply full weight and even suggested she sit on the children’s heads. He emphasized that higher quality videos would result in greater financial reward, and McFee, who was experiencing financial difficulties at the time, asked questions about her compensation. In one exchange, she mentioned she was planning a holiday and wanted to maximize her earnings from the videos.

The court also viewed photographs and video footage showing McFee kneeling in front of one of the babies, thrusting her buttocks backward towards the child, and sitting on cushions placed on the children’s bodies and heads. The evidence indicated that her actions caused the children to become increasingly distressed, with some crying and attempting to escape as she applied more weight. Despite their initial laughter, the children’s reactions grew more severe as the abuse continued.

In her sentencing, Sheriff Jillian Martin-Brown acknowledged the gravity of the offenses but believed that a non-custodial sentence would serve the purposes of punishment and societal disapproval while allowing for effective rehabilitation. McFee was sentenced to 200 hours of community service, placed under an eight-month restriction of liberty order, and subjected to social work supervision for three years. Additionally, she was banned from having any contact with children under 17.

McFee, a mother of two, pleaded guilty in October 2019 to the charges of assaulting the twins at a residence in Arbroath. The identities of the children remain protected. The case against Kerr, who was 35, involved similar allegations of inciting McFee to commit these acts and possessing child abuse images at RAF Lossiemouth and RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. His sentencing was deferred pending a report from a psychosexual therapist.

This case has raised serious concerns about the exploitation and abuse of vulnerable children and highlights the importance of vigilance and swift legal action to protect the most innocent members of society.