A former Edinburgh history teacher has been convicted of sexually abusing three young men who were his pupils.

Alan Wilson, 48, had been head of history at James Gillespie's High School until he resigned last year.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard Wilson had committed a series of homosexual acts on the three teenage boys over five years, between 1994 and last year.

The offences took place at Wilson's flat off Edinburgh's Royal Mile where his pupils would go for individual private lessons.

Plied with drink

On several occasions, the court was told, Wilson gave the boys, aged 16 and 17, beer or whisky to drink before sexually abusing them.

Throughout the six-day trial, Wilson had strenuously denied any sexual misconduct, saying he had maintained a teacher-pupil relationship at all times.

But the jury found him guilty of eight out of the 10 charges against him by a unanimous decision.

He was found not guilty, by a majority, of one charge of committing a homosexual act and of possessing cannabis.

Wilson, who had been described as "inspirational" and "a pillar of the community", was suspended from the school in February 1999 after a complaint by the mother of one of the boys.

Newspaper report

None of Wilson's victims reported the offences to the authorities immediately after they occurred.

One, who was 17 at the time, reported it five years later after reading a newspaper report about the teacher's suspension.

The other 17-year-old told the court he had not reported it at the time, but said he too had seen the newspaper report.

"I knew it would be wrong for me not to say anything and not to stand up and tell the truth as I knew it to be," he said.

"He did things to me which were wrong".

Wilson has been released on bail for three weeks as sentence has been deferred for background reports.