Dubliner Marie O'Gorman, 79, had previously pleaded guilty alongside Scot Mary McGuire, 68, for being responsible for the maltreatment of seven children under their care at Nazareth House in Cardonald, Glasgow, from 1975 to 1981.
Both women appeared at Glasgow Sheriff Court on Wednesday for sentencing, having pleaded guilty to multiple charges in February.
O'Gorman, known to the children as Sister Mary Aelred, joined the Sisters of Nazareth congregation in 1963 and was assigned to care for groups of 10 to 12 children. During her tenure, she abused three children aged between three and 11 years old, reports the Daily Record.
The court heard how she repeatedly assaulted the young children with various objects, including a harness, slipper, and belt. One child was singled out by O'Gorman, who would force her to stand in a cold bath and douse her with water if she wet the bed.
Further humiliation was inflicted upon the child by making her wear a nappy while parading in front of others. The nun also abused a second child while he was bathing. McGuire, known as Sister Maria Bernadette to the children, entered the congregation in 1975.
She confessed to abusing five children, aged between five and 12, striking them with items such as a slipper, a leather belt, and a wooden hairbrush. In one particularly violent incident, a child sustained an injury after being hit in the eye with a belt buckle, resulting in a bruise.
Both nuns received probation orders on Wednesday (March 25). McGuire, from Fife, was placed under supervision for two years and instructed to complete 225 hours of unpaid work over the coming 12 months.
O'Gorman, from Dublin, was similarly placed under supervision for the same duration. Each woman was ordered to pay £1,000 compensation to every one of their victims.
This marks the most recent case of historical abuse involving nuns from the Sisters of Nazareth order. Carol Buirds, 75, was sentenced in January along with Eileen McElhinney, 78, and Dorothy Kane, 68, for the horrific abuse of children that occurred at two homes in Lasswade and Kilmarnock between 1972 and 1981.
Buirds, from Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, was jailed for 15 months. McElhinney, from Bishopbriggs, East Dunbartonshire, received a 12-month Probation Order and was instructed to complete 240 hours of unpaid work.
Procurator Fiscal Fraser Gibson, from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, stated: "Marie O'Gorman and Mary McGuire were trusted to care for vulnerable children who had almost no support and relied entirely on the adults around them for safety and compassion. Instead of offering that care, they caused them profound and lasting harm. It is now a matter of public record that, while working at Nazareth House, both individuals gravely abused the authority and trust placed in them
"Their offending may have taken place several decades ago, but this type of abuse has never been acceptable and should not have happened.
"The Crown treats all allegations of non‐recent child abuse with the utmost seriousness, and no matter how much time has passed, we remain committed to ensuring survivors are heard and perpetrators held accountable."