Sheriff Eoin McGinty said Neil’s offences represented a “great breach” of the trust placed in him as a teacher.
Referring to convictions of other staff members, Sheriff McGinty said: “Yours was a pastoral role at Kerelaw – it was supposed to be a place of safety, instead it was a place of utmost danger.
“These offences occurred many years ago but your victims experienced difficulties that continued into adulthood. The passage of time has not erased your actions.”
Despite Sheriff McGinty stating the seriousness of Neil’s crimes passing the threshold for custody, he decided against jailing him to due his “advanced years”, lack of previous convictions and low risk of re-offending.
He sentenced him to two years’ probation and 300 hours’ unpaid work to be completed within 18 months.
Addressing victims, he added that the conviction would “provide some measure of society’s acknowledgement and disapproval of what was done to you”.
Laura Connor, a senior partner with Thompsons Solicitors who represents a number of people who were victimised at Kerelaw, said it was “deeply regrettable” that there had been no jail sentence for Neil.
She said: “Given the scale and cruelty of the abuse against children perpetrated by Neil it is deeply regrettable that there is no custodial element to his punishment.
“Many children were abused at the Kerelaw and I would encourage anyone who was affected to report this to the police so that we can continue to hold these child abusers and the school to account.”