Paedophile Ex-Schoolteacher Who Retired To Thailand Now In English Prison

A former private school teacher, who sexually abused a young boy on official coach trips, has been jailed for two and half years after his victim broke a forty-year vow of silence.

Michael Porteous, 78, was convicted at Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court of two counts of indecently assaulting a boy and was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

Porteous, who had moved to Thailand, was arrested after his victim – a new father - came forward with allegations of abuse in December 2012.

The victim, a man now aged 51, was abused as a 12-year-old by Porteous, who was one of his teachers at King's House Prep School, Richmond in 1974.

He said the art and music teacher sexually assaulted him - unbeknown to other teachers and pupils - while they sat next to each other on a coach that travelled to a sports ground.

The abuse happened on numerous occasions and continued during a six to eight week period.

After the allegation was made in 2012, it was investigated by officers from the Metropolitan Police's Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command.

Porteous was tracked down to Thailand, but he returned to Sussex in September 2013 for a short visit to see family members and was arrested.

The victim had not spoken out at the time of the assaults because his parents worked hard to pay for his education and he didn't want them to feel he had let them down.

Although he had told previous partners and his wife of his ordeal, he had never discussed the intimate details of the abuse until he spoke with officers from the Met.

Detective Constable Nikki Honey, the investigating officer, said: "Porteous preyed on a vulnerable young boy, who didn't really understand what was happening to him at the time.

"He used his position to abuse a child, and thought he had got away with it.

“His victim only came forward as he became a father himself to a much longed for child a few months before he made the allegation.

"He stated that when he looked into his son's eyes and saw such innocence, coupled with the media attention of the Jimmy Savile inquiry, it gave him the strength to make the allegation.

"The victim received the utmost support from officers that enabled him to talk intimately about the events he had to endure.

"He had never told anyone before in such detail.

“This took a lot of courage, especially for something he had wanted to forget about.

“He was able to recall the incidents in so much detail, even after nearly forty years.

“He had lived with his memories for such a long time, and is now so relieved, that he has described it as 'being set free'."