SCOTLAND
Scottish Legal News
A man who claimed he was sexually abused as child in a Catholic school more than 50 years ago has failed in an appeal against a judge’s decision that the action was time-barred.
The Inner House of the Court of Session upheld the Lord Ordinary’s decision on the application of the long negative prescription, and on the issue of time-bar.
The Lord Justice Clerk, Lady Dorrian, sitting with Lord Drummond Young and Lord Glennie, heard that the claim by “K” against The Marist Brothers arose out of physical and sexual abuse which the reclaimer alleged was perpetrated against him by one Brother Germanus, while he was a pupil at St Columba’s School, Largs, for a period starting in 1962 or 1963 and ending in 1964 or 1965.
It was said that Brother Germanus had instilled fear in the reclaimer, who was “physically and psychologically terrified” of him; when K’s brother died, Brother Germanus on one occasion told him that if he told their “little secret” he would never see his brother again, meaning, “in heaven”.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.