Army
Former Soldier Jailed For Using Shock Collar On Child
A former soldier who gave a "terrified" young boy electric shocks using a dog collar has been jailed for three years and four months.
Lanna Monaghan caused serious neck injuries to the toddler, who was aged between two and three, after seeing it work on a pet and saying:
"If it works on a dog it will work on kids."
The 34-year-old, who served in the Army for nine years, also bit and kicked the child, gave him cold showers and hit him so hard with a wooden spoon it broke.
At the High Court in Glasgow, Judge Lady Rae said the boy had not suffered lasting physical effects but "it is impossible to determine what the emotional impact" on him would be.
Referring to the electric collar the judge said:
"I can't see how any right-minded person would use such an instrument on a dog, never mind a child."
Monaghan, who is pregnant, claimed she was pressurised by her mother to use the collar but Lady Rae, said: "I can't believe you were encouraged to do this by a family member especially when it was that family member who reported you to the authorities."
"This defenceless little boy must have been terrified of you. You must have known what you did was wrong. Your victim was utterly unable to defend himself."
The Army veteran, who reportedly served in Iraq and Afghanistan with the Adjutant General’s Corps, admitted to five charges of assaulting the boy in the Scottish Highlands last year.
She said she gave him the shocks because he wouldn’t eat his food or because he urinated on the floor and admitted biting his ear and forcing him into the shower while kicking him.
She told police she had a temper and said that the boy "pushed her buttons".
Cover Picture: Police Scotland
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