Members of a Catholic order have been accused of physically and sexually abusing boys at a residential school in Scotland, including giving them electric shocks by making them grasp the exposed wires of a generator.
Police in Stirling confirmed that a report had been sent to the procurator fiscal after a three-year inquiry into St Ninian's List D school at Gartmore in Stirlingshire, which was run by the De La Salle Brothers.
Former pupils at the school, which closed in 1982, have alleged they were tortured, beaten and sexually molested by a number of the brothers and civilian staff. A spokesman for the order said all the allegations were vigorously denied, and that the home had been run in an "exemplary" manner.
A Glasgow lawyer has launched a parallel civil action against the De La Salle brothers on behalf of 11 former pupils of the school, which housed boys sent from children's panels across Scotland who were deemed too disruptive to stay at home.
Mr Cameron Fyfe said papers had been lodged at the court of session in Edinburgh.
One former pupil, Mr Christopher Fearns (34), now a social worker, was sent to the school when he was eight. He has alleged that he was beaten with a riding crop two or three times a week for four years.
"They were constantly beating us," he said. "They told us they'd beat the devil out of us. One brother whipped me with a horsewhip. He'd tied knots in the end to make it even more painful and I was beaten solidly for 10 minutes."
Mr John McCormick, a lawyer representing the De La Salle order, said the brothers had cooperated fully with police. "Nobody has been charged," he said. "The allegations are vigorously denied. All the evidence available to me indicates that St Ninian's was run in an exemplary manner." It is understood that the police report into St Ninian's, now a Christian conference centre, covers a period between the mid-1960s and 1982.
Allegations have been made against seven brothers and five civilian staff. Two of the brothers have died and the others, now aged between 68 and 92, have retired.
The report alleges that boys were frequently subjected to sexual fondling and a range of "punishments".
Several boys also mentioned an electrical device, described as a type of generator, which was kept in the boot room. According to the report, boys were made to hold on to a pair of wires leading from the machine, which administered electric shocks.