A former pupil at a prestigious London prep school has come forward to allege he was subjected to sexual abuse at the hands of one of the teachers.
The man – given the alias Hassan – says he was repeatedly preyed upon by music teacher Michael Porteous at King’s House School in Richmond.
Hassan says he was groped and forced into sexual contact during his time at the school in the early 1970s, when he was aged 11 and 12.
He came forward to police to report the abuse last year, only to learn that Porteous had left the UK for Thailand and subsequently died.
Law firm Leigh Day is now representing Hassan, and is seeking help from former King’s House pupils who may be able to help with its investigation.
“We are investigating a case of serious sexual assault upon Hassan, and it is very important that anyone who may have relevant information gets in touch as soon as possible”, said senior Leigh Day associate Andrew Lord.
“We would particularly like to speak with any former students of King’s House School who recall Mr Porteous, or who were enrolled at the school during the 1970s, as this may greatly help support my client’s claim.”
Hassan says he remembers being invited to Porteous’ music classroom in 1972 to organise sheet music, when the teacher is said to have unzipped the boy’s trousers and put his hands over his genitals.
Hassan also says Porteous groped him on a coach trip to Canterbury, and repeatedly forced the boy to touch his genitals over trousers as they sat together at the piano in the main school hall.
Porteous was jailed for two and a half years in 2014 for the sexual abuse of another boy in the 1970s.
Kingston crown court heard he had brazenly groped the 12-year-old victim on a coach trip while surrounded by other teachers and pupils.
The victim in that case said he came forward in part because of media reporting of the sexual abuse perpetrated by Jimmy Savile.
After Porteous was locked up, King's House headmaster Mark Turner said he was “shocked” at Porteous's “deplorable crime”.
“Although we are saddened that the school was not in a position to prevent the actions of Porteous, and that it took almost 40 years to bring this matter to the attention of police, we are very pleased to see that justice has been done”, he added.
Leigh Day have appealed for anyone who can help the firm’s investigation to email alord@leighday.co.uk or call 020 7650 1200.
The school has been contacted for comment.
