Boy didn’t die because of abuse at Largs boarding school, inquiry told

A boy who died while he was a pupil at a Catholic boarding showed no signs of being beaten up despite claims he had suffered a “vicious'' attack at the hands of a cleric.

The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry has heard several accounts over the death of Aldo Moroni, seven, at St Columba's in Largs, North Ayrshire, in 1980.

It has been reported the boy was attacked by Brother Germanus, real name David McKell, because he was taking too long to use the toilet. He later died.

Detective Inspector Lynsey Watters opened up a review in 2016 of the circumstances of his death after receiving information about the alleged incident.

The 1980 post-mortem examination showed he died as a result of septicemia and the follow-up investigation by the officer - who has been in the force for 21 years - revealed there was no “trauma'' linked to his death.

It was heard the boy had not returned to school, which was run by the Marist religious order, following the mid-term break and had not been at the establishment for around two weeks before his death.

Mr Watters interviewed Aldo's mother in 2016 and said he had been described as a “healthy, happy boy'' who was very charismatic but suffered from fevers from time to time.

It was heard the mother said: “I'm unaware of any wrongdoing to Aldo at St Columba's.''

The inquiry was told he had taken unwell while at home in Dunoon and was then taken to Inverclyde Royal Hospital before being transferred to the sick children's hospital in Glasgow.

Colin MacAulay QC, senior counsel to the inquiry, said: “The post-mortem that you uncovered and the post-mortem review indicated death was caused by septicemia.

“There's clear evidence that he would have taken ill at home and that he died over two weeks from when he had last been at school.''

The officer replied: “Yes.''

Meanwhile, a man who had been handling allegations of abuse made against the religious brothers around Scotland has said the order “failed'' after taking around a year to report an accusation to the police.

Ronnie McEwan handled complaints between 1993 until 2019 in relation to the Marist institution.

The inquiry was told a man had alleged historic sexual abuse at the hands of Brother Germanus and Mr McEwan told him the order would refer the accusation to the police.

It was heard there was an error and the referral to officers had a “significant delay'' of around a year.

Mr McEwan said: “We failed.''

The inquiry, before judge Lady Smith in Edinburgh, continues.

Hear the latest news on Clyde 1 on FM, DAB, smart speaker or the Rayo app.