Former Fettes College pupil repeatedly sexually assaulted by teacher awarded £97,604 in damages

A former pupil at Edinburgh’s Fettes College, who was repeatedly sexually assaulted in the classroom by a teacher, has been awarded £97,604 in damages.

But lawyers acting for the abuse victim had argued he was entitled to receive a £2.5m payout in compensation because of the consequences of the wrongdoing.

The man, who was granted anonymity, brought an action against the Governors of the Fettes Trust at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.

The judge who heard the action, Lord Young, said: “Many years ago, the pursuer was the victim of repeated sexual abuse at the hands of one of his schoolteachers.”

He said: “The defenders (the trust) accept vicarious responsibility for the criminal actions of their former employee. The defenders also accept that they are liable to pay damages for the pursuer’s loss. What is not agreed is the extent of those losses.”

“In particular, the parties have fundamentally different positions on whether the pursuer’s ability to earn income as an adult has been affected by the childhood abuse,” he said.

Fettes argued in the action that damages should only be awarded for pain and suffering caused to the victim earnings, which it valued at £15,000 along with interest.

Lord Young said he had anonymised the teacher as JX as he has yet to face a criminal trial. He said JX was a maths teacher would set work for the class,

He would call the pupil to the front of the classroom under the premise of going over his work The judge said: “JX would fondle the pursuer’s genitals underneath his shorts and underwear as the pursuer was made to stand to the side of JX.”

“A desk would obscure what JX was doing from the other pupils in the class. JX would praise the pursuer’s work as he abused him. The pursuer estimated that this occurred two or three times each week,” said the judge.

He said the victim, who started at the school when he was aged nine, estimated that the abuse happened two or three times a week from 1977 until 1979.

The victim said he was confused by what was happening at the time, but knew it did not feel right. He did not disclose the abuse to his parents or anyone at the school.

He later held various jobs before working in financial services and going on to be a property developer.

Lord Young said: “The pursuer’s description of the abuse which he suffered at the hands of JX over a 27 month period in the later 1970s is a matter of agreement. This was a series of regular sexual assaults on a young boy by a person in a position of authority.”

“His evidence of being confused and embarrassed by the abuse is readily understandable. As is his description of being fearful in each class that he might be called out to the front to be abused.”

The judge said that the victim did develop symptoms which met the diagnosis for post traumatic stress disorder at the time of the abuse. But he added: “However, the acute symptoms diminished within a year or so of the abuse ending. I am satisfied that by the time he left Fettes in the mid 1980s, he was largely symptom free.”

He said: “It is to the pursuer’s credit that he appears to have found a way to distance himself from the abuse. That has allowed him to have a happy family life and uninterrupted career in various jobs.”

The judge concluded that the victim had not proved that he suffered economic loss because of a claimed lost opportunity to obtain a business management degree and to go and work in that sector.

He said: “The pursuer’s claim depends on proving a causal link between the abuse which he suffered and his lack of a university degree on which to build a corporate career. His claim for patrimonial loss id predicated on proof of that link.”

“In the absence of such proof, he is not entitled to damages for past or future loss of income or pension loss,” he said