Accused man (87) in historic sex abuse trial at Skegby Hall faced allegations at the time

Nigel Pipe denies 27 offences it is alleged he committed when he was a housemaster at the approved school for boys, on Mansfield Road, Sutton, during the 1960s.

He was called to the headmaster's office and told the allegations centred around one boy's diary, but said "there was absolutely nothing in it at all that was incriminating."

Nottingham Crown Court heard he took the diary away and showed it to a solicitor while police were interviewing the boys.

He said: "No further action was taken because the boys had admitted they had lied," and he remained on duty throughout the investigation.

One of the boys was later transferred from Skegby Hall, because of his "lack of progress and his latest misbehaviour," but the defendant denied having anything to do with the decision.

"I just carried on as normal afterwards," he said. "It wasn't easy. We didn't want to stir up any emotions. The boys knew about it. There was a general buzz in the school."

Before the incident, there were "rumours and tittle-tattle" about the boy being gay, and he was bullied, but Pipe said: "I wouldn't allow that."

Prosecutor Sarah Knight asked him: "Would you agree that the sexual abuse of children requires, at its heart, a control of children in order to achieve it?"

"I would assume so," he replied.

Pipe, of Llanwenarth View, Govilon, Abergavenny, faces four counts of a serious sexual offence with a boy under 16; fourteen counts of indecent assault on a boy under the age of 16; and nine counts of inciting a boy under the age of 14 to commit an act of gross indecency.

The jury previously heard that Skegby Hall was an approved school for boys who had been "sent there by the court usually if they had committed an offence."

Pipe described them as "very devious and delinquent," and said: "They were into mischief. They were light-fingered."

The court heard how one method of discipline was known as "little man," which involved the boys crouching on their haunches and hopping around a room with their hands on their heads.

Pipe said he only imposed that form of discipline once, and "fell out with the headmaster" when he refused to do it again.

The Home Office required that all instances of corporal punishment were recorded in a "punishment book" by the headmaster, the court heard.

The headmaster was described by one of the complainants as a "brute," and the defendant said he was "very strict, stern."

Pipe said that he "controlled (the boys) quite well with a stern look and my voice, and I was quite pleased I could do that."

"Did any of the boys receive special treatment from you?" Ms Knight asked and Pipe said “no”.

The trial, which began on September 8 and is expected to last four weeks, continues.

You can read the Chad’s earlier reports here and here.

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