VICTIMS wept in court as the headmaster and a teacher from a former Catholic school for troubled boys were jailed for a total of 15 years for a catalogue of horrific physical and sexual abuse against six pupils more than 30 years ago.
One person shouted “hope you enjoy every day of it” as priest John Farrell, 73, and Paul Kelly, 64, were led away to serve their jail terms.
The pair preyed on youngsters between the ages of 11 and 15 at St Ninian’s in Falkland, Fife, run by the Christian Brothers organisation before its closure in 1983.
Sentencing the pair at the High Court in Glasgow yesterday, the judge condemned them for committing a “gross abuse of trust” in one of the biggest abuse inquiries of its kind ever carried out by Police Scotland.
Farrell, of Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, was jailed for five years for three counts of indecent assault. Kelly, of Plymouth, Devon, was given 10 years in prison for four counts of indecent assault and two assault charges.
The men belonged to Catholic order the Congregation of Christian Brothers, which ran the school. Farrell went on to become a priest and Kelly continued to teach until his retirement four years ago.
Referring to the victims as he sentenced the pair, Judge Lord Matthews said: “The jury found you guilty of a number of gross abuses of the trust placed in you in relation to some of the most vulnerable members of our society, children from difficult backgrounds with no effective voice.
“The vulnerabilities to which all of the victims were already subject were plainly greatly exacerbated by the revolting abuse to which they were subjected at St Ninian’s and it is no exaggeration to say that their whole lives have been blighted by what went on.
“No sentence I can pass can undo the grievous harm caused to them by your conduct. It can only be hoped that the jury’s verdict can provide some form of closure for them after all these years.”
Victims and their supporters hugged one another after leaving the courtroom, with several in tears.
One victim said: “I’m pretty disappointed at the sentences. They certainly don’t reflect what they’ve been convicted of. I know what they did and the other boys know what they did. They will suffer for what they’ve done. They took a lot of kids’ childhoods. There are certain guys that couldn’t be here today because they are still so traumatised by it.”
“It’s the end of this case but I think it will now prompt others who didn’t come forward before. If something happened to you when you were a kid, come forward. I never thought I would have the courage to start this procedure and see it through. I’m glad I did it now.
St Ninian’s housed about 45 vulnerable boys until its closure in 1983. The judge said the school was meant to be an educational establishment but also a “haven” for children in need of care, protection and guidance. Farrell – headmaster at the school – and Kelly committed the crimes between 1979 and 1983.
The pair were tried on about 50 charges but the jury found them not guilty, or the offence not proven, on all but 11 last month.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here