Former footballer spared jail over sadistic attacks on kids at "hell on earth" school
- Rory Cassidy
- Aug 11
- 3 min read
A former footballer has been spared jail over the physical abuse of children at the "hell on earth" school where he worked as a P.E teacher.
Michael Neil locked children in the gym hall at the residential school in question and struck them with golf balls.
The retired striker, who played for Arbroath and Clyde, carried out so many attacks on pupils during his teaching career that a court heard he couldn't even remember them.
The 72-year-old returned to Paisley Sheriff Court yesterday, Monday, August 10, 2026, to be sentenced, having been convicted after a trial last month.
He was placed on a Community Payback Order which will see him supervised by social workers for two years and having to complete 300 hours of unpaid work.
Neil is the latest former member of staff at Kerelaw School, in Stevenston, Ayrshire, to be convicted of abusing youngsters.
In 2024, Police Scotland declared a "critical incident" due to the number of historical abuse allegations in relation to the school.
Neil, of Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, had gone on trial charged with assaulting 24 children - 18 boys and six girls - between 1985 and 2004.
Six of his alleged victims were unable to give evidence in the trial as they have passed away.
Statements they had given to police about the abuse they claimed they suffered at his hands were read out in court.
The jury heard weeks of claims of sadistic abuse spanning a 19-year period.
Neil was also said to have kicked, punched and slapped pupils and hit them with golf clubs and cricket bats.
Other claims against him were that he stood on a boy's leg while wearing studded football boots, pinned a girl to the ground with his body weight, forced her head against the ground, and twisted her arms and pulled her thumbs back.
He was also accused of repeatedly hitting a boy's head off the ground, knocking him unconscious, and repeatedly hitting another boy with a belt.
Another girl claimed she had been dragged along the ground, while another said she had been grabbed by the hair.
A further female said she had been slapped on the head, while another said she had been hit with a metal pole.
One boy claimed he had been elbowed, punched, slapped and kicked, while another said he had been hit with fire extinguishers and wooden sticks.
And one boy said he had been hit with a fire extinguisher and stones and made to strip and jump into a river.
In his closing speech to the jury, prosecutor Michael Cunningham said: "These attacks were a normal part of everyday life.
"Just something that was normalised.
"This was a course of conduct systematically pursued by Michael Neil.
"These were very distressing and deeply personal matters that took place at that school.
"Ten former pupils have told you they were struck with golf balls, or some other sports ball, at the school, but Michael Neil would have you believe that they have all made it up for some reason.
"This school, quite frankly, sounded like hell on earth.
"The violence was so widespread and common that he's simply lost track of it all.
"Michael Neil has failed each and every one of these children miserably.
"This was relentless abuse that they faced at the hands of their teacher, Michael Neil."
Giving evidence in his own defence, Neil rubbished the victims' claims, saying they were liars and drug addicts, even when they were children.
But the jury saw through his lies and convicted him of five charges of abusing children between 1991 and 2003.
Speaking after he was sentenced, Anne Marie Hicks, Procurator Fiscal for North Strathclyde, said: "Michael Neil abused his position of trust and subjected children in his care to repeated violence over many years.
"The abuse suffered by these young people at Kerelaw Residential School should never have been accepted as a normal part of life there.
"The survivors showed considerable courage in coming forward and giving evidence, helping to secure convictions and bring Michael Neil before the court to answer for his actions.
"The passage of time does not diminish the seriousness of child abuse. Scotland’s prosecutors remain committed to bringing offenders before the courts and seeking justice for survivors, regardless of when these crimes were committed."
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