Real-life case study of abuse by a teacher.
School should be a safe place for a child, and children and their parents should be able to trust their teachers. Sadly however this is not always the case, as this real-life case study of abuse by a teacher illustrates.
A young man who was horrifically abused by his teacher for sexual gratification, reached out to specialist abuse lawyer Elizabeth Duncan.
This gentleman, who we will refer to as ‘Y’ for privacy reasons, had been targeted by his school teacher when we was just 12 years old. He had struggled with some subjects at school and the teacher used that as an excuse to get him to attend a “study club”. The teacher presented this to Y’s parents as a legitimate school activity and they were impressed that the teacher was so keen to help their son through difficult school work.
However the “study club” was no such thing, being held off school premises at the teacher’s house and used as a cover for him to sexually abuse Y.
The abuse lasted for many months and had a devastating impact on Y as he grew up.
As an adult, Y was contacted by the police when another victim of this teacher’s abuse came forward. After being questioned by the police the teacher took his own life and therefore never faced justice.
Some years later, and wanting to achieve some sense of closure and justice for what he had been through, Y contacted Elizabeth about bringing a civil claim for compensation for abuse by a teacher.
Elizabeth considered that there was a case to be answered by the school. Under the law an organisation such as a school can be “vicariously liable” for the acts of an employee. However the abuse must be closely connected with, and carried out in the course of the teacher’s employment.
In Y’s case, because the teacher had committed the acts of abuse off school grounds and outside school hours, the organisation running the school denied legal responsibility. They argued that the connection between the abuser’s role as a teacher and the abuse was not close enough for legal liability to arise.
Undaunted Elizabeth continued arguing her client’s case, and she was ultimately successful when an out of court settlement was achieved. The compensation that Elizabeth recovered will enable Y to obtain specialist treatment to help him come to terms with what he has suffered.