A Dundee mum from hell who inflicted two decades of abuse on her children has been jailed.
The woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, abused one of her daughters from the day she was born.
She also admitted threatening to kill her second daughter in her sleep during violent attacks from when she was five until she was 11.
Dundee Sheriff Court heard the 49-year-old threatened the child with a knife and, on one occasion, told her she was going to “kill her in her sleep” and that she should “sleep with one eye open”.
The girls were eventually removed from their mum’s care and they had no contact until the woman got hold of the eldest girl’s email address in 2016 and began bombarding her with emails before continually sending text messages.
The court was told the messages contained threats, disparaging comments about the girls’ appearances, and “graphic” descriptions of sex with her partner, of his genitalia and her own private parts.
She pleaded guilty of two charges of assault to injury committed between October 1988 and July 2008, and two of behaving in a threatening and abusive manner committed between May and November 2016.
Defence counsel Jonathan Crowe said his client, who was previously remanded in custody, now accepted the harm she had caused to her children.
He said: “She is someone who has lost everything in life. She has lost her children, lost her previous husband and she is losing her liberty.
“She is someone who needs help and I believe sending this lady to jail will not provide her with the help she deserves.”
Sheriff Alastair Brown said she had an “inexcusable history of child abuse”.
She was sentenced to a total of 35 months in prison with a one-year supervised release order and a five-year non-harassment order.
A spokesman for children’s charity NSPCC welcomed the jail sentence.
He said: “Rather than protect and nurture her children, the mother in this case inflicted horrific abuse against them and their lives will have been devastated by her sickening actions.
“The persistence of the abuse, both physical and via messages and threats, is shocking and the victims have shown enormous bravery in speaking out about what happened to them. We hope they now receive the help and support they need.
“NSPCC Scotland works in schools and in the community to prevent abuse and anyone worried about a child can contact our Helpline to report concerns.”
Any adult concerned about the welfare of a child or young person can call the NSPCC helpline for free, 24/7, on 0808 800 5000. Children can call Childline at any time on 0800 1111.
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