Couple forced boys to take part in rape of a baby

A man and a woman who forced two boys to take part in their rape of a one-year-old girl during a catalogue of abuse have been jailed.

Samantha Crawford and Michael Cummins, from Kirkcaldy in Fife, made the children, then aged seven and three, participate in their attacks on the infant as well as sexually assaulting a fourth child.

Crawford and Cummins, who were once married but have since divorced, also made the two older children promise not to tell anyone about their repeated physical and sexual attacks.

Crawford, 33, was sentenced to 10 years in jail, while Cummins, 35, received a 14-year sentence after the pair denied any wrongdoing during a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh.

Passing sentence, Lord Harrower described their offending as “extreme” and said neither had shown “any remorse” for their actions.

The pair stood trial earlier this year, but sentencing had been deferred until background reports could be obtained.

Crawford and Cummins married in Kirkcaldy in 2011, but divorced in 2022.

Their offending took place in the middle of this period, between 2014 and 2018.

The court heard how the couple targeted their first victim, the seven-year-old, when he was raped and physically assaulted by Cummins.

The trial also heard the one-year-old was raped on “various occasions” and the two boys were involved in the attacks against their will.

The pair also sexually and physically assaulted a fourth child, a boy, who was born in 2014.

The court heard the children had been ordered not to tell other adults what happened by saying the phrase “zip it, lock it, put it in your pocket”.

Jurors returned guilty verdicts against the pair after listening to a week-and-a-half of evidence detailing the “devastating” impact their actions had on the children.

Much of the evidence is too graphic to repeat in reports.

Lord Harrower told the jurors they would be eligible for counselling if they felt it necessary to talk to someone about the evidence they heard.

The judge also placed the pair on the sex offenders register for life and ordered Crawford, who began crying when the verdict was read out, to be supervised upon release for three years and Cummins, who remained emotionless, to be supervised for four years.

Sentencing, Lord Harrower said: “Your offending must be categorised as extreme. The impact of your offending on these children will be devastating.

“You do not accept any responsibility and neither of you have shown any remorse for your actions.”