Angus cottage death teacher also accused of child sex offences
A retired teacher who was fined following a fatality at a remote Angus cottage he rented to holidaymakers is facing child sex abuse charges in England.
Piers Le Cheminant was ordered to pay £2,000 by a Dundee sheriff on Thursday after admitting safety breaches in a cottage he was sub-letting that led to the death of student Thomas Hill, 18.
Mr Hill, who studied at Stirling University, was killed after being exposed to carbon monoxide in the bathroom of Glenmark Cottage, at Tarfside, by Edzell, in October 2015.
Le Cheminant, 76, appeared at Dundee Sheriff Court on the sixth anniversary of the tragedy to be sentenced for his role in Mr Hill’s death. He was fined £2,000 by Sheriff Gillian Wade. Cottage owner Burghill Farms – a partnership which at the time was run by
the Earl and Countess of Dalhousie with their son Simon, Lord Ramsay – was ordered to pay £120,000.
Mr Hill was found unconscious behind a bathroom door after carbon monoxide escaped from a faulty heater. Attempts were made to save the teenager’s life but he was pronounced dead en route to Ninewells Hospital.
Ten days before the Mr Hill died, a family staying at the same cottage experienced problems with the bathroom heater. Le Cheminant subsequently instructed the unqualified gas engineer to replace the gas bottle. He reported finding no other issues with the heater.
The court heard that no annual checks were carried out on the cabinet heaters, which were placed in small rooms without enough ventilation.
Following the case, The Scotsman can reveal that Le Cheminant, of Newton Abbot in Devon, is currently on bail after he was accused of sexually abusing two boys while teaching at the prestigious Salisbury Cathedral School.
Le Cheminant faces charges over alleged incidents between 1965 and 1986, including at another school.
He appeared at Portsmouth Crown Court via video link in March and he denied the 15 offences of indecent assault against 13 boys aged under 14.
He was released on unconditional bail for his trial which was listed to take place on January 24, 2022.