Five men have been arrested and charged in connection with historical abuse of children at Edinburgh Academy, Police Scotland has said.
The five individuals, aged between 69 and 90, are believed to be former staff at the Academy, one of Scotland’s most prestigious private schools.
The Academy has come under increasing scrutiny in recent months as former pupils gave their evidence of alleged physical, sexual and psychological abuse there at the Scottish child abuse inquiry.
Reports on the five men will be submitted to the procurator fiscal and police said a sixth man, aged 74, will also be reported to the procurator fiscal.
The charges, which follow a lengthy policy investigation and are informed by the testimonies put before the inquiry, relate to abuse incidents alleged to have taken place at the school between 1968 and 1992.
DI Colin Moffat said: “We would like to thank everyone who has come forward and assisted our inquiries to date.
“While the investigation of child abuse, particularly non-recent offences, can be complex and challenging, anyone who reports this type of crime can be assured that we will listen and we will investigate all reports, no matter when those offences occurred or who committed them.”
In a statement, the Edinburgh Academy Survivors group thanked Police Scotland for their decisive action as well as thanking survivors who gave evidence at the inquiry.
“Childhood abuse causes lifelong harm with very real consequences,” the group said.
Last month, members of the group welcomed the opportunity to give evidence about their experience at a hearing after a court ruled that another former teacher, John Brownlee, would not stand trial because of ill health.
Brownlee, 88, was facing a total of 37 allegations relating to violence and torture he is alleged to have inflicted on 35 schoolboys from February 1967 to December 1987 while he taught at the Academy.
Although the crown agreed that Brownlee was unfit to attend, an examination of facts hearing – where witnesses would give evidence about their experiences while attending the school – has been scheduled for next March and is expected to run for about 15 days.
In August, former Academy pupils including the broadcaster Nicky Campbell gave 14 gruelling days of evidence to the inquiry, during which the school’s current management apologised for “brutal and unrestrained” historical abuse.
