A former PE teacher inflicted a horrific campaign of abuse on pupils at a private school in Edinburgh for nearly three decades, a court has ruled. John Young, also known as Jake, used excessive corporal punishment and behaved indecently towards some of the boys at Edinburgh Academy between 1966 and 1993. As the 91-year-old was deemed not fit to stand trial, his deplorable crimes were heard during an examination of facts hearing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court. Young, from Edinburgh, denied all the allegations against him, however the judge ruled it was beyond reasonable doubt that he was guilty of 26 of the 54 charges brought against him. The beast was found guilty of the crimes, however, due to his health, no action will be taken against him. They included 10 counts of assault, three charges of indecent assault and eight charges of lewd and libidinous behaviour. The offences were carried out while he headed up the PE department of the private school in the capital's Stockbridge. Evidence was taken from 24 former pupils – and a further three witnesses - during the hearing. It heard how he physically assaulted some pupils when he was punishing them, including punching them, slapping them and beating them. He also assaulted several boys by striking their genitals with a towel. On other occasions, he seized a child's genitals and compressed and grabbed pupils' hands to wash their genitals. One witness told how he had suffered a spinal injury during a rugby match but was forced by the teacher to participate in a PE class where he had to pick up heavy weights. The man, now in his 50s, said he was aged between 12 and 15 at the time and had been caused "substantial pain" and the activity had caused his injury to worsen. The court further heard that Young would target young boys who weren't good at sport. He'd either physically hit them, mock them, or body shame them. He also enforced a rule where boys were not allowed to wear underwear under gym shorts. The court heard that the PE teacher would line the class up and ask them to hold the waistband of their shorts out so he could check they were naked underneath. Young was not in court as the sheriff delivered his conclusion. He said that placing Young on the sex offenders register at this stage would serve no practical purpose. Two of Young's victims , who wished to remain anonymous, welcomed the ruling via statements from law firm Irwin Mitchell. The first survivor, who was subjected to a barrage of physical blows during a sudden attack in a classroom, said: “Young was at the Academy for decades and taught PE to nearly every boy so it would not surprise me if hundreds more were affected. I think the school had lots of opportunities to prevent his abuse. I complained but I believe my complaint was taken to Young so the school could work to silence my complaint rather than address it. “It’s a shame that I and other survivors have to settle for an examination of facts hearing and are denied the chance to get a conviction – I hope police and fiscals get the chance to act quickly against abusers in the future so the chance for others to secure justice is not lost.” The second survivor added: “This outcome should send shivers down the spines of Edinburgh Academy bosses. For decades survivors like myself have been accused of lying, exaggerating or misremembering but now we have a black and white decision that finally acknowledges us. “Although it’s not a full conviction I think it’s still better than what the school ever did as I felt its own investigations and processes fell massively short of basic safeguarding steps for children. One key takeaway for me was the process – I find it unfair that I had to endure brutal cross examinations while the person involved gets to sit at home like nothing’s happening. “But ultimately, we secured the best possible outcome so I’m now just going to go home, process it and move forward feeling a good deal lighter now the truth has had its day.” Prosecutor Fiona Kirkby, of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) said: “The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service consistently and successfully strives to secure justice for those affected by non-recent abuse . John Young systematically abused young boys, over a period of 27 years, while holding a significant position of trust as their teacher at the Edinburgh Academy. “He had a duty of care to nurture and support these children but instead intentionally exploited his power to violate and humiliate them. This Examination of Facts is a public airing of the facts and an acknowledgement that what happened to these children in the past was criminal. It should never have occurred. “It is now a matter of public record that Young committed offences including lewd and libidinous behaviour, indecent assault and cruel and unnatural treatment. The court’s finding today also sends a clear message to abusers: no matter who you are, when the abuse happened or how long after the event it is reported, there will be a robust response from prosecutors.”