Parents of St Andrew’s College pupil who took his life following sexual grooming allegations wins court case

THE parents of a teenage boy who committed suicide at a private school in 2018 have won a case to not share their son’s medical records.

Thomas Kruger was found hanged at St Andrew's private school in Makhanda in November 2018.

According to reports on News 24, his parents, Charl Kruger and Elizabeth Kruger have since instituted a R60 million damages claim against the school and the school’s water polo coach David McKenzie.

The family attribute their child’s ‘state of mind’ at the time of his death to being sexually molested and groomed by McKenzie, News 24 reported.

Other respondents in the damages claim include Angie Motshekga, the Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga and the Eastern Cape MEC of Education.

The parents, according to News 24, said their son became withdrawn and depressed following the grooming and molesting and took his life.

This week, News 24 said the family won an application not to grant access to their son’s medical records to the respondents.

The respondents are demanding access to the reports to see if there were any other issues that Thomas may have had from psychological reports, according to News 24.

The Judge ruled that the application was "invasive" and "irregular".

In addition, an independent review, according to News 24, found that the headmaster, Alan Thompson, failed to deal effectively with complaints raised against the coach.

They reported that Thompson, who is also cited as a respondent in the damages claim, has since left the 166-year-old Anglican School and is now the headmaster of another prestigious school in the Eastern Cape.

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