Men face charges of assaults on school pupils

A group of men have gone on trial accused of committing a string of physical and sexual offences over nearly a quarter of a century against 34 pupils who attended a Fife school.

Philip Barton, 66, Angus Munn, 58, Ian Nutman, 63, and Robert De Koning, 68, entered not guilty pleas to a total of 62 charges.

Prosecutors claim the men committed offences at a school in Fife – which cannot be named for legal reasons – between June 18 1982 and March 23 2006.

A jury at the High Court in Edinburgh heard the contents of a legal document detailing the charges during the first day of proceedings.

One of the charges claims Barton, of Burntisland, and Nutman, of Kirkcaldy, used “lewd, indecent and libidinous practices” on “various occasions” towards a girl by watching her when she was naked in a communal shower and bathroom.

The alleged offence took place between June 1982 and November 7 1985.

The girl is said to have been 12 years old when the alleged abuse took place.

In another charge, Nutman is said to have physically assaulted the girl on an occasion between June 18 1982 and November 1985.

In another charge De Koning, of Glenrothes, is said to have sexually assaulted a 12-year-old boy on various occasions between November 26 1999 and November 25 2000.

On an occasion between September 1 1998 and May 20 1999, Munn, of Burntisland, is said to have seized a boy by his body before forcing him to the ground and lying on top of him. Lawyers for Barton have lodged special defences of self defence in relation to a number of the charges.

The case continues.