Witness appeal: Allegations of abuse at private prep school
Law firm Leigh Day is appealing for information from former students who attended King’s House School, following allegations of sexual abuse.
Posted on 18 October 2024
A former student, who we will call Hassan, has instructed Leigh Day to investigate a potential civil claim against King’s House School in Richmond, claiming that he experienced abuse there between 1971 to 1973 when he was aged 11 to 12 years old.
Hassan alleges multiple acts of sexual abuse by Michael Porteous, a former music teacher at King’s House School who served a prison sentence and has since died.
He recalls incidents such as being invited to a music classroom in 1972 to organise sheet music, where Porteous is claimed to have unzipped Hassan’s trousers and put his hands over his genitals.
He recalls a similar incident on a coach to Canterbury where he alleges that Porteous put his hands underneath Hassan’s underwear and ‘played with’ his genitals.
Hassan also claims that Porteous would invite him to sit at the piano in the main hall, and he forced Hassan to touch his genitals over his trousers.
In 2014, it was reported that Porteous had been jailed for sexually abusing a 12-year-old boy at King’s House School in the 1970s in a similar way to Hassan’s allegations.
Hassan reported the abuse to the police in September 2023. However, he was told that Porteous had moved to Thailand and has since died.
Leigh Day’s Andrew Lord, senior associate, is representing Hassan. Andrew said:
“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. 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.”
If you can provide any relevant information, please contact Andrew Lord at alord@leighday.co.uk or call 020 7650 1200.