Fornethy child abuser continues to deny crimes at inquiry hearing

A teacher from the Fornethy residential school in Angus, who was convicted of a catalogue of abuse against young girls from Glasgow, has repeated her denials of doing anything wrong, despite being convicted last year.

Patricia Robertson, 77, known as Patricia Baxter, claimed none of the allegations were true, despite a jury finding her guilty last year of subjecting girls to verbal, physical and emotional abuse at Fornethy House in Angus.

Last year, Robertson was convicted of 18 charges of cruel and unnatural treatment. Her behaviour included hitting children, force-feeding them and humiliating them over bed wetting.

The women hope Robertson’s performance on Wednesday could give extra grounds for revisiting her sentence, and also believe speaking out may encourage more women who were abused at Fornethy between the late 60s and the 80s to come forward.