[imagesource: News24 / File]

Former St Andrew’s College (SAC) water polo coach David Mackenzie has been found guilty of grooming boys during his time at the school.

The ruling was made by a review board tasked with investigating allegations against Mackenzie, who was dismissed by his latest employer, Reddam House Bedfordview in Johannesburg, in October last year.

Mackenzie resigned from his role at SAC in 2018, with claims against him first emerging publicly via My Only Story: Back to School, a six-part investigative podcast series that looked into the circumstances surrounding the death of 16-year-old Thomas Kruger.

Before we cover the recent developments, let’s backtrack a little and revisit some of his texts with then-pupils at SAC during his time at the school.

Below via a News24 report from October last year:

…Mackenzie abruptly resigned from SAC in 2018 after signing a boy out of the school’s sanatorium. The boy was later found in the boarding house where Mackenzie had a flat…

Messages of an intimate nature between Mackenzie and the boy were later found on the boy’s phone…

Image: Supplied to News24]

There are also several photographs of shirtless boys drinking or smoking what appears to be marijuana and, in one instance, a boy who is clearly naked from the waist down.

The review board’s findings also signal the end of the road for SAC headmaster Alan Thompson, who has now stepped down from his role.

Again from News24:

The [SAC] council said on Wednesday: “Given the findings of the Review Board, Council has agreed with Thompson that he will step down as headmaster of St Andrew’s College with immediate effect.”

The SAC council said it was important to note that Thompson submitted to it that there were parts of the review board report that he “strongly refutes and strenuously denies”.

The review noted that Thompson and other staff “had not taken appropriate steps” when investigating complaints made against Mackenzie.

They also failed to “employ safeguards and measures to ensure students were not subjected to inappropriate attention by Mackenzie”.

Once more via News24:

According to the report, Thompson ascribed the relationships that Mackenzie had forged with pupils to the immaturity of a young teacher.

[Review board chair judge Dayalin] Chetty said he found Thompson’s assessment “quite frankly, incomprehensible”.

His report stated the evidence presented to Thompson “demonstrated, quite unequivocally, that Mackenzie was grooming boys”.

Thompson pointed out that the review board considered evidence that he had not seen, and thus could not defend or reply directly to.

The now-former headmaster said he was “misled and deceived by Mackenzie” and issued an apology.

[sources:news24&news24&news24]