Monk Who Raped Me May Be My Father, Witness Tells UK Abuse Inquiry

Irish Examiner
October 17, 2019

https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/world/monk-who-raped-me-may-be-my-father-witness-tells-uk-abuse-inquiry-957866.html

A former pupil at a Catholic boarding school in Scotland has told how he was raped by a monk who he suspects to be his father.

The witness, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had a statement about his time at St Columba’s in Largs, North Ayrshire, read to the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry on Thursday.

The man, now in his 50s, claims to have suffered a serious sexual assault at the hands of a monk before enrolling at the school.

He told how his family had a strong connection with the Marist order, which ran the establishment, and they had gone on a trip to Middlesbrough with a religious brother.

The witness, who was then aged seven, said: “It was then that he betrayed my trust, (he) took me up to his room.

“He had been drinking heavily, he made me carry out acts of a sexual nature on him.

“I was naked from the waist down, he then raped me.”

The man, now in his 50s, claims to have suffered a serious sexual assault at the hands of a monk before enrolling at the school.

He told how his family had a strong connection with the Marist order, which ran the establishment, and they had gone on a trip to Middlesbrough with a religious brother.

The witness, who was then aged seven, said: “It was then that he betrayed my trust, (he) took me up to his room.

“He had been drinking heavily, he made me carry out acts of a sexual nature on him.

“I was naked from the waist down, he then raped me.”

He said: “I remember having to take my clothes off and I think on that occasion he made me stay in there and had to sleep on the edge of the bed in front of him.”

That was the first time he suffered sexual assault, he said.

But the witness claimed the abuse went on throughout his time at the boarding school, being made to perform acts on another boy as well.

He added: “It was constant, I’m not saying every day, but a number of times a week.

“It just seemed to be something that was part of life at the school.”

The witness also spoke of being told about the death of schoolboy Aldo Moroni, after hearing wailing from a pupil in the building.

He said: “There was a boy screaming upstairs, like he was in pain.

“Some of us started to go upstairs, a lad started shouting at the boys to get back down the stairs.

“Within a number of days, we were told he was dead.”

The inquiry, before judge Lady Smith in Edinburgh, continues on Tuesday.