Teacher says abuse claims are ‘pack of lies’

A retired Paisley school teacher has told a jury how four men have told“a pack of lies”in making allegations that he sexually abused them.

Kenneth Divers gave evidence yesterday at his trial in Paisley Sheriff Court where he is accused of historic child sex abuse spanning over 20 years.

The 78-year-old is said to have abused school pupils aged as young as 10 years old at locations including St Aelred’s Secondary School, Hampden Park and at Sandbank Villiage, Dunoon.

Diver’s defence counsel, John Brannigan KC, yesterday asked the former woodwork teacher what his position was on the allegations against him, and Divers replied:“I have no recollection at all of giving any abuse to any pupil. It is not true.

“It is completely untrue.”

During the trial yesterday a man told the jury how his former woodwork teacher took him on holiday to Majorca during the summer holidays in 1973 where he allegedly sexually abused him.

Recalling the two-week trip, the 64-year-old man – who was 14 at the time – told the jury Divers sexually assaulted him, stating this happened“regularly”throughout the holiday.

In his evidence the man described how scared he was at the time stating:“I was frozen with fear, I was absolutely terrified.

“I remember the sweat running down my face with fear.

“When he touched me for the first time, I froze.I’ve only ever experienced real fear twice in my life. Once was twenty-odd years ago when I got held up at gunpoint. I thought the guys were going to kill me.

“The closest I ever got to that [fear] was when Kenny Divers touched me inappropriately.”

The man also claimed that Divers, who was like an“uncle figure”was the school’s football coach and he would take him to music concerts and football matches.

He also gave evidence claiming Divers sexually assaulted him on various occasions at Diver’s home in Mannering Way, Paisley between 1971 and 1975, when he attended for math tuition and at a friend’s property in Largs, Ayrshire after they had looked at pornographic magazines together.

A second witness that we can not identify also claimed Divers acted in a sexually inappropriate way towards him when he was a school boy.

The now 43-year-old told the jury how his woodwork and guidance teacher, Divers “inappropriately”touched him on two occasions while he was aged 11 and 12 at St Andrew’s Secondary School in Paisley’s Barrhead Road.

The former pupil claimed he was“frozen to the ground”when Divers - who was also his football coach, made him“drop”his towel when he was a first year pupil in 1991.

The man also claimed a“similar incident” happened the following year in 1992 when he was 12-years-old.

Divers was extradited from Vietnam to face the claims before being remanded at Paisley Sheriff Court in February last year.

Prosecutors claim Divers abused a number of boys from 1968 to 1992.

Divers, described as a prisoner of Low Moss prison, East Dunbartonshire, denies all charges against him.

The trial before Sheriff Brian Mohan continues.