I’M NO MONSTER
Monk on trial for assaulting schoolboys tells jury: That is not my general character
A MONK has denied he was “a monster who exploded with temper” when he punished pupils at a Catholic boarding school.
Thomas Seed, 83, who taught at Fort Augustus Abbey, was giving evidence on the third day of his trial at Inverness Sheriff Court. He denies assaulting eight boys in the late 70s and early 80s.
Five former pupils have told the jury that Seed, known as Father Benedict, would cane or belt them until they bled – with one accusing him of using a spiked golf shoe.
Another claimed he was repeatedly punched, kicked and hit in the private parts with a hockey stick because he refused to go to sports when he was ill.
The witnesses told how they would be punched or kicked and sometimes dragged along floors or down stairs to Seed’s study, where he would inflict corporal punishment.
Yesterday, John Campbell QC, defending Seed, asked him: “You have been characterised as intemperate, quick to anger, aggressive and disproportionate with your punishment – a monster on the loose who explodes with temper. “Does that ring true for you?” Seed said: “No. It is not me. I could have been impatient or mistaken. None of us are perfect all the time.
“I think there may have been some times that I could have been excessive but not all the time. That is not my general character.”
The trial continues. T&C’S APPLY