Blunders mean teacher will not face sex charges

A SENIOR teacher charged with sexual attacks on four of his pupils at a residential school will never face prosecution because of a catalogue of legal blunders by the Crown Office, an investigation by The Scotsman has discovered.

A procurator-fiscal has issued an unprecedented apology to women who claim they were abused by William Brydson, after vital deadlines in the case were missed, meaning he can never be brought to trial.

Brydson, the former deputy headmaster at Woodlands School in Newton Stewart, Wigtownshire, was jailed for two years earlier this year for a series of assaults on children, including kicking some as young as nine in the stomach and groin and throwing one boy down a flight of stairs. His alleged victims claim dozens of other charges, including sexual assault, never reached court due to the incompetence of Crown lawyers.

Crown Office sources have confirmed that Brydson was originally charged with 35 offences including sexual assaults against four girls. However, the charges were "lost" because of a failure to meet court deadlines.

David Howdle, the area procurator-fiscal for Dumfries and Galloway, apologised to the women and admitted that staff had bungled the case.

Blaming poor management and a failure to meet strict deadlines imposed by new laws under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), he said lengthy delays meant the case took three years to complete and the sexual charges had to be dropped.

Mr Howdle went on: "The fiscal service was under a lot of pressure due to a lack of resources. This was one of the cases which fell foul of the European Convention on Human Rights. The bad news is that we could have done more ... we should have been able to prosecute more fully within a quicker time scale.

"The case was not acted upon … it did miss important deadlines. It took 31 months between the original report to the fiscal and the case being called." It is understood that lawyers for the Crown were forced to plea-bargain with defence solicitors to remove the sexual assault charges, in the hope of getting some kind of conviction.

Brydson, 56, a former soldier from Renfrew, began the abuse in 1979 and left the school in 1991. He admitted 12 counts of assault against nine boys and three girls. Married with children of his own, he attacked the youngsters in his care - who all had behavioural problems - over a nine-year period.

Michelle Forbes claimed she was sexually abused by Brydson at Woodlands when she was 15, and said she felt cheated by the Crown’s handling of the case.

"This case dragged on for years and I really believed I would have my day in court," she said.

"To be told that it won’t go ahead because of their mistakes is unbelievable. They said the case fell due to time factors. It’s not enough; what message does this send to women?"

The mother of two, now 34, described Brydson as a "dangerous man" who should never be allowed to work with children again. She added: "What worries me is he could be out of jail within a year. We will never see justice done because he will never appear in court."

It is understood Ms Forbes is one of four women considering a civil action against Brydson and the privately-run school.

Her lawyer, Neil Waterman, a senior partner with Waterman’s solicitors in Edinburgh, said his client was expecting a payout from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority for the psychological damage she suffered.

Mr Waterman added: "This man was entrusted with the care of these vulnerable children. There was a string of charges against him over a number of years ... but there is no prospect of him reaching court.

"He will soon be walking out of prison a free man. Despite the concerns, he will not be on the sex offenders’ register. The victims are keen to bring a civil case if only to prove that there has been a serious miscarriage of justice."

Under Article 6 of ECHR, the accused has the right to a fair trial "within reasonable time" and a failure to hear the case can result in it being thrown out.

Crown Office figures suggest the number of accused criminals escaping justice due to delays has more than doubled in 12 months. More than 17,000 cases were torn up last year because police and fiscals were unable to process them quickly enough.

Margaret Mitchell, the depute home affairs spokeswoman for the Scottish Conservatives, said: "This case aids our argument that there must be more resources put into the fiscal service.

"We have to have an inquiry to see how this happened and ensure it never happens again."

Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish National Party’s justice spokeswoman, said: "This mix-up has contributed to somebody escaping justice on extremely serious allegations. It is not surprising that victims feel so badly let down."

Last month a convicted rapist was awarded 4,000 damages after European judges said court delays had breached his human rights.

Seven judges in Strasbourg ruled that the time it took to conclude an appeal against his conviction and sentence for rape and assault contravened his human rights.

Yesterday, women’s rights campaigners called upon the Executive to bolster the rights of victims.

A spokeswoman for Rape Crisis Scotland said: "It takes an awful lot of courage to come forward and report a sexual crime and it’s notoriously difficult to get a conviction. Cases such as this should always be given priority. We must protect children and victims of sexual abuse. There must be a balance struck between the rights of the victim and the accused."

An Executive spokesman said steps are being taken to improve the way the courts operate. The most radical shake up of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service for a generation is under way.

He added: "Ministers have made it clear that the Crown Office will have the resources and management structure to prosecute crime in the most professional manner possible."