Patricia Robertson, 77, avoided jail last month after she was convicted of tomenting girls as young as six at the facility in Angus between 1969 and 1984.
A victim of an evil teacher who force fed and physically abused children at the Fornethy ‘House of Horrors‘ has welcomed a bid from the Crown Office to appeal her abuser’s “lenient” sentence.
Patricia Robertson, 77, avoided jail last month after she was convicted of tormenting girls as young as six at the facility in Angus between 1969 and 1984. The pensioner, now retired, was found guilty of 18 charges of cruel and unnatural treatment of the youngsters at the all-girls’ residential school following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.
Robertson was placed on probation involving being supervised for three years and she was ordered to pay her 18 victims compensation of £1,000 each. She was also subject to a restriction of liberty order keeping her at home between 3pm and midnight for the next 12 months.
Roberston was told although her depraved crimes passed the “custody threshold”, a prison sentence could only be imposed on someone who had never been in jail before if it was deemed there is no appropriate alternative.
But now, in a move from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), her sentence will be appealed on the grounds that it is “unduly lenient”. The Record understands it will take between five and six weeks for the appeal to be processed.
Survivor Sharon Cruden, 60, who was beaten by Robertson during her six-week stay at the school in 1974, told the Record: “We are obviously delighted that prosecutors agree that this sentence is just a slap on the wrist for Robertson.
“For her to avoid a custodial sentence is an insult to her victims.
“It sets a bold message to other survivors of historic abuse not to bother coming forward because after you’ve been dragged through the court process, there’s no guarantee you’ll get fair justice.
“Robertson is evil and she has inflicted decades of trauma on her victims.
“I personally have had to cope with the trauma she inflicted on me for over 30 years – she should have been locked up for the rest of her life yet she was allowed to walk free from court without a care in the world.
“We as victims deserve justice and we deserve to be able to put this behind us and move on with our lives. Knowing she hasn’t faced the true consequences of her vile actions will never allow us to find closure or peace.”
Robertson‘s sickening offences included delivering punishments for wetting the bed, force-feeding, banging girls’ heads together and dragging children by their hair. Throughout the trial, evil Robertson vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
She admitted having a “strong voice” when sometimes dealing with the girls, but claimed she was not violent and didn’t bully them. She was one of several members of staff who inflicted horrific abuse on the youngsters, who were promised a “summer holiday” at the facility in the north-east of Scotland.
Robertson was the first worker at the school to be convicted of the deplorable offences. All other perpetrators are believed to be dead.
The school was run by Glasgow Corporation, now known as Glasgow City Council, at the time of the abuse. The local authority apologised to victims in 2024.
Speaking on behalf of the council at the time, leader Susan Aitken, said: “I want to say sorry for any abuse suffered by any children who attended Fornethy House.”
The building of Fornethy House, described as a “shrine to abuse” by survivors, now lies in a state of decay.
A COPFS spokesperson said: “Following full and careful consideration of all the facts and circumstances, the Crown has lodged an appeal against sentence on the grounds that it is unduly lenient. As proceedings are active it would not be appropriate to comment further.”
