The ex-deputy headmaster of Waterkloof High in Pretoria was in court this week suing three learners for a picture they made showing him and a colleague naked in a digitally manipulated picture, two papers reported on Saturday.

The photograph showing Dr Louis Dey (45) and the deputy headmaster was sent two years ago via MMS and bluetooth to hundreds of children in the school, the Beeld reported.

Dey testified on Thursday that the picture showed himself and Dr Christo Becker sitting naked on a couch — the photograph was manipulated to make it look as if the headmaster and the deputy were naked with "their hands on each other's genitals," with the school badge covering their hands said the Beeld.

Dey is claiming R600 000 from Christian Gildenhuys, Reinhard Janse van Rensburg, both 19, and a 17-year-old boy whose name may not be mentioned because he is still underage and still a pupil at the school.

Dey's son was one of the learners who saw the picture.

Dey said the school took disciplinary action but after consulting with the governing body, he went to the police, said the Saturday Star.

The defence suggested that the boy's actions were merely part of irresponsible youthful behaviour but Dey disagreed saying the actions were excessive and belittled him.

"I just wanted to sit in my office. I didn't want to show my face. My name had been dragged through the mud, to put it mildly. I was like the court jester who had been pelted with rotten eggs and tomatoes," he said.

The case continues.

Sapa