Three Waterkloof teenagers who manipulated a picture of their school’s principal and his deputy should have been guided to better values instead of being slapped with a R600 000 defamation suit, the Pretoria High Court heard on Tuesday.

Educational psychologist Dr Susan Kriegler testified that adolescents were not yet fully developed intellectually or emotionally, had trouble distinguishing between fantasy and reality and acted impulsively.

Their sense of humour and jokes differed from that of adults and reflected their frame of reference. She said the incident should be seen in the context of a high school culture which poked fun at teachers and authority figures.

A joke could be accompanied by an error of judgement, she added, but a teacher had to take corrective steps by guiding the juvenile and promoting a value system.

She was of the opinion that the boys were at their age not intellectually or emotionally capable of having the intention to harm the reputation and honour of their deputy principal.

Their actions were within the limit of what teachers could expect of boys that age and could never be equated with offences like drug abuse or assault, she added.

A damaged reputation

Kriegler felt the boys had already been punished adequately and should not have been exposed to the anguish of criminal charges or a civil suit, which resulted in them feeling disillusioned, disappointed and even persecuted.

Former Waterkloof Hoërskool vice-principal Dr Louis Dey felt so aggrieved by the image that he not only laid criminal charges against, but also insisted on continuing with a civil suit against them.

He felt his reputation had been tarnished to such an extent by the "abhorrent" image that he had to leave the school. He is now the principal at a private school.

Dey's lawyer questioned Kriegler at length on her views about the rights of teachers versus the rights of children. At one stage he suggested society was raising "monsters". He criticised her for making general statements and not talking about the three youths specifically.

The three — Hennie Le Roux (18), Christiaan Gildenhuys (19), and Reinhard Janse van Rensburg, (19) — all said they saw the picture as a huge joke, had distributed it impulsively and never intended to defame or belittle Dey.

Final arguments would be heard on Wednesday.

Sapa