SCOTLAND
The Press and Journal
A priest denied he was “a monster on the loose who exploded with temper” as he punished pupils at a Catholic boarding school.
Thomas Seed, an 83-year-old former monk who taught at Fort Augustus Abbey, was giving evidence during the third day of his trial in which he denies assaulting eight boys in his charge.
A jury was told by five former pupils that Seed, also known as Father Benedict, would cane or belt them until they bled, with one accusing him of using a spiked golf shoe.
The boys, now adults, were aged between 11 and 15 at the time, and claimed Seed was excessive in his use of the cane or tawse. They also accused him of being “in an uncontrollable rage.”
However asked by his defence counsel, John Campbell QC: “You have been characterised as an intemperate, quick to anger, aggressive and disproportionate with your punishment man – a monster on the loose who explodes with temper.
“Does that ring true for you?” Mr Campbell asked.
Seed replied: “No. It is not me. I could have been impatient or mistaken. None of us are perfect all the time.”
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