LONDON, June 4 (UPI) -- Two women and a man have been found guilty in London for torturing an eight-year-old girl who they believed was a witch, The Scotsman reported Saturday.
Witnesses testified the child was cut with a knife, beaten with a belt and shoe and threatened with death. In addition, testimony indicated chilli peppers had been rubbed into her eyes in an effort to force the "devil" from her.
The girl, now 10, said she had been put into a zip-up laundry bag and told she would be thrown into a river.
The girl's maternal aunt, who cannot be identified under British law, was found guilty Friday of four charges of child cruelty. Another relative, Sita Kisanga of London, and her brother, Sebastian Pinto, also from London, were found guilty of aiding and abetting child cruelty.
Sentencing was pending.
Testimony indicated the abuse began at the beginning of 2003 after Kisanga's eight-year-old son told his mother the girl was a witch who came to him as a spirit in the night and hit him with a metal pole, The Scotsman reported.
