A former deputy headteacher at Edinburgh Academy has been found to have carried out a campaign of violence and torture against pupils as young as eight over a 20-year period. John Brownlee, 89, was found by Sheriff Ian Anderson to have committed 31 charges of assault and assault to injury, as well as a charge of cruel and unnatural treatment, spanning from 1967 to 1991.
Brownlee, who was excused from trial due to advanced dementia, was described as a 'sadist' and 'psychopath' by his victims. The case was heard in a quasi-trial process known as an 'examination of facts', based entirely on survivor testimony. Many victims spoke of the arbitrary and gratuitous violence they endured, including being hit with a wooden bat called a 'clacken', as well as being smacked, kicked, and throttled.
BBC broadcaster Nicky Campbell, a former pupil, was among those who gave evidence. One survivor recalled Brownlee spinning a clacken with a smiling face on one side and a sad face on the other; if it landed sad-face up, the boy would be hit. Sheriff Anderson noted that delays in reporting abuse do not necessarily undermine the credibility of evidence.
Graeme Sneddon, speaking for the Edinburgh Academy Survivors' Group, called Brownlee a 'sadistic, evil and violent monster' and said the verdict sends a strong signal that the law will eventually catch up with child abusers. The current rector, Barry Welsh, reiterated an apology to all affected by historical abuse and confirmed that a book based on survivor interviews, titled 'Breaking the Silence', has been commissioned.
At least five other former staff members face charges related to historical abuse at the school between 1968 and 1992, following a police investigation informed by testimonies given to the Scottish child abuse inquiry.
