COURT JAILS AMANDA MATHEWSON FOR NEGLECTING CHILDREN

Sheriff John MacRitchie sentenced childminder Amanda Mathewson to two years in prison at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court on 6 November after she admitted neglecting children in her care. The case concerned 27 children whom she left alone and unsupervised at her home in Dunfermline, Fife. Some children remained strapped into prams in an upstairs room, while others stayed unattended in the garden. Mathewson’s permitted limit allowed her to care for eight children.

The offences covered several addresses in Dunfermline and elsewhere between 7 September 2023 and 26 August 2024. At an October hearing, Mathewson pleaded guilty to wilfully neglecting, abandoning and exposing children in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering or injury to their health. The case included babies younger than a year old. Her conduct included “various steps” to deceive parents and organisations about the care she provided.

Mathewson required parents to text her before arriving to collect their children, allowing her to anticipate their visits. She also concealed other children inside rooms when parents came to collect those in her care. By the time of her arrest in August 2024, Mathewson had worked as a self-employed childminder for approximately 30 years. Dozens of parents attended the sentencing hearing, and more than 20 other people watched through an online feed.