Boarding school pupils ‘exposed to paedophiles' amid ‘cover-up'

The Herald Scotland

a day ago

William Bain admitted 11 charges and was jailed for nine years in June at the High Court in Glasgow, after a criminal investigation was sparked by evidence at the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI) in 2021.
In a report published on Wednesday, chair of the inquiry Lady Smith condemned the school's failure to investigate Bain and said it was a 'disgraceful abdication of responsibility' which allowed predators 'free rein', including another recently convicted paedophile ex-teacher.
Bain, of Crieff, Perthshire, was described as a sadist by detectives and the scale of his abuse of pupils aged between 11 and 14 was deemed 'horrendous', following his sentencing at the High Court in Glasgow on June 30.
Lady Smith found that school leaders carried out a 'cover-up' to protect its reputation and hailed the 'fresh prosecutions' of Bain and another recently convicted paedophile, following evidence heard at the inquiry.
She warned that further abusers could be prosecuted as a result of the SCAI.
The findings are part of SCAI's Boarding Schools case study including Loretto School, Gordonstoun, and Merchiston Castle School.
Keil School was established by philanthropists to educate rural boys, and moved to Dumbarton in the 1920s where it became an environment where pupils 'were expected to endure violence and suffer in silence', according to the SCAI.
By the 1950s until the 1980s, abuse was 'normalised', with prolific abuser Bain remaining at the school until it closed in 2000, and other offences carried out by paedophile English teacher David Gutteridge in the early 1990s.
Both men were house tutors, and the SCAI condemned a lack of oversight.
Bain, who worked there for 23 years, was previously convicted in May 2016 of offences at Keil and jailed for six-and-a-half years, while Gutteridge was jailed last year for indecent assault of a pupil at the school, set up by the Mackinnon-Macneill Trust.
William Bain was jailed earlier this year (Image: Police Scotland/PA)
In her report, Lady Smith said that a headteacher was responsible for a 'cover-up', while abusers such as Bain had 'free rein on a daily basis'.
Lady Smith said: 'Protection of the reputation of the school was prioritised over the interests of children, that was a disgraceful abdication of responsibility. The prevailing culture allowed two paedophiles to operate without fear.
'William Bain sexually abused some children on hundreds of occasions, on an almost daily basis. The abuse Bain perpetrated persisted for years, despite concerns arising early on, after a parent complained.'
She branded an investigation 'inadequate' and said parents were falsely reassured.
Lady Smith said: 'The problem was covered up by headmaster Christopher Tongue and other senior staff. Despite parents being assured that reports would go on record, this did not happen. Tongue's successor was never told about it.'
Gutteridge, who taught at Keil from 1989 to 1991, abused a pupil having 'carefully engineered the circumstances', according to the SCAI. He was jailed for 17 months following a conviction for indecent assault at Forfar Sheriff Court in September 2024.
But his predatory behaviour towards teenage boys predated Keil, and in 2015 he was jailed for 18 months after being convicted of two charges of indecent assault at Harrow Crown Court, committed in England in the 1980s.
Other staff physically abused pupils justifying it as 'officially sanctioned punishment', including a housemaster remembered for his 'sadistic brutality' and 'mass beatings' including using the belt, according to the SCAI.
Lady Smith said: 'Keil was a school with inadequate senior leadership and a lack of the most basic of child protection systems.'
She branded it a 'remarkable example of naivety and false optimism trumping reality' which resulted in children being abused.
Lady Smith added: 'The cases of Bain and Gutteridge are examples of a significant outcome.
'Fresh prosecutions followed exposure of their behaviour through the inquiry's investigations and evidence – demonstrating that those who abuse children in care may find it catching up with them decades later.'
Responsibility for running boarding houses was left to senior boys appointed 'chiefs', who controlled squads of junior boys, with some staff considering themselves 'immune from management', a report from the inquiry said.
Governors of the Mackinnon-Macneill Trust 'failed to challenge the situation', and have since apologised for the abuse, according to the SCAI.
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Lady Smith said: 'I would encourage anyone who has relevant information on any aspect of our work to get in touch with our witness support team. We want to hear from you.'
On Wednesday, nuns from a Catholic order, Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul, said that children were abused in the care of their establishments for deaf and disabled children.
Sister Eileen Glancy, speaking about St Vincent's School for the Deaf and Blind in Glasgow, told a hearing of the inquiry in Edinburgh: 'We'd have to accept some children were abused.'
She added: 'Children weren't as well protected as they should have been.'
A former pupil of St Vincent's, using the pseudonym Gordon, said in a witness statement that he told his mother about abuse from nuns, and was punished after she contacted police.
The man said that he told his mother on two occasions, and said: 'The physical abuse used to shock me as these were Christians. We lived with fear and intimidation all the time.'
He said: 'My mum spoke to a nun and challenged her about the treatment of children. I know the nun told my mum it wasn't true and I had been a bad boy.
'After that, I was assaulted again and my mum told the police, but nothing happened.'
Gordon alleged that he was subjected to sexual abuse as well as physical violence, including having his head 'batted against a desk'.
He said that the nuns and a priest were 'hypocrites', and that the school felt like a 'prison' as it was surrounded by 15-foot walls – but there was no alternative, as it was the only school for deaf children.
Gordon said: 'There was so much cruelty at St Vincent's and none of us could understand that, the Sisters were supposed to be so holy and caring but were so cruel. This was a period of suffering for all deaf children of my generation. We all suffered, we were all terrified.
'I would like to see charges brought against the people who were responsible.'
The inquiry continues.