SCOTLAND
BBC News
A former priest has denied he was “a monster” who “exploded with temper” as he punished pupils at a former Catholic boarding school at Fort Augustus.
Father Benedict Seed, 83, is charged with assaulting eight pupils in the 1970s and 1980s. He denies the charges.
Appearing under the name Thomas Michael Seed, he has given evidence in his trial at Inverness Sheriff Court.
He told the court that caning pupils at Fort Augustus Abbey school “was very rare” and belting was “pretty rare”.
The jury in his trial has heard from five former pupils that Father Benedict Seed would cane or belt them until they bled, with one accusing him of using a spiked golf shoe.
Another said he was repeatedly punched, kicked and hit in the private parts with a hockey stick because he refused to go to sports as he was ill in bed.
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