A woman who kept a toddler in a cage claims she had to flee her home after her partner in crime turned on her.
Serial child abuser Claire Boyle says she had to move to escape partner Timothy Johnstone, after they were spared jail for child neglect. Boyle, 36, made the claims through defence solicitor Brian Holliman during a hearing at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court.
When she pled guilty to breaking bail conditions and assaulting a police officer, Mr Holliman asked for Johnstone, who was sitting in the public seats to watch Boyle’s case, to be locked out of the court.
He said: "There is an individual outside. She is the victim of him and is fleeing domestic violence. This was a pattern over several months. She would prefer this is not said in the presence of this individual."
Sheriff Laura Mundell agreed for the court to be closed to the public during the hearing. Mr Holliman continued: "She was fleeing an abusive relationship. She left that relationship in October.
"On several occasions she was reported as a missing or vulnerable person by her partner, Mr Johnstone. She is located by police officers and can behave badly towards them."
Boyle was spared jail in 2021 for neglecting a four-year-old so badly doctors feared he had blood cancer or a blood clotting disorder.
Her mistreatment of the youngster, who was covered in bruises, only came to light after he escaped from her flat through a window.
He was found wandering the streets in the rain wearing just pyjamas after squeezing through a six-inch gap between the frame and pane and dropping four feet to the ground.
A two-year-old boy was then found being kept in a home-made cage – using a cot with the base removed and secured to the top – at the home Boyle shared with Johnstone, in Newmilns, Ayrshire.
Boyle and Johnstone, 59, denied child neglect but were found guilty at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court. At Ayr Sheriff Court, in 2014, she was given another Community Payback Order after being caught trying to sell the same baby for £1million in Ayr High Street.
On the most recent offences, Sheriff Mundell said: "I want to find out a bit more about you and the complex circumstances Mr Holliman alluded to today."
She called for background reports to be prepared, remanded Boyle in custody and adjourned sentencing until next month.
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