17th Jun 2017
Sexual Abuse Compensation - Winning Case Studies for Robsonshaw Solicitors
Sexual abuse can happen anywhere, at any time, and to anyone, male or female. Around our website you'll find pages dedicated to situations that seem to have more than their fair share of sexual abuse incidents: schools, scouts, the workplace, the church. But as these case studies show, everyone's experiences of sexual abuse are completely different.
Read through some of our client's stories below. Robsonshaw Solicitors were able to win them compensation in all these cases.
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An unpleasant incident at fast food take away
Our client visited a takeaway with her two young children. After she had ordered her food, she asked a member of staff who had taken her food order if she could use the toilet. He indicated the toilets were out of order, but she could use the disabled toilets, although he would need to escort her there. She went with the staff member towards the toilet and he suggested she leave her two children outside the cubicle.
As she went to walk into the toilet, he placed his hands on her bottom and tried to ease her into the cubicle. He then grabbed at her bottom and tried to touch her genital area. She was shocked and upset and immediately left with her children. She went to a nearby supermarket where she was attended by staff and the police were called. The staff member was then interviewed and charged with sexual assault. He appeared at the local Magistrates, initially pleading not guilty to the offence, and then absconded with a warrant for his arrest.
Robsonshaw Solicitors were instructed and immediately sought a copy of the CCTV. Although the footage was grainy, the evidence showed the altercation, and he sexual assault by the staff member.
We wrote to the takeaway franchise, who initially denied liability and argued they were not responsible for the staff member who had committed the sexual assault. There was also an issue over who owned the takeaway. We successfully argued the ownership issue, and obtained medical evidence about the effect of the assault upon our client.
Following negotiations we obtained over £8000 in compensation for our client.
Sexual Abuse at a religious cult
In 1977 our client’s parents became members of a religious cult and moved into its accommodation. The organisation operated a very strict communal regime to such an extent that our client was not allowed to be properly cared for, parented or disciplined by her parents and the cult assumed these roles in their totality.
Our client was subjected to regular sexual abuse at the hands of an organisation member. When she was a young child this member was overtly interested in her. As she got older things progressed, he routinely followed her around and when the opportunity presented itself he would touch our client's breasts, her genital area and bottom over and under clothing.
Our client reported the sexual abuse to a House Leader who said that he would talk to the abuser. However, the member was well liked by the senior members of the organisation and nothing was done. This initially discouraged our client from reporting the abuse to anyone else.
Years later our client complained to the police who investigated the abuse. The member was charged and was found guilty at a Crown Court Trial. Notwithstanding the conviction, he was taken back into the community when he was released from prison, and became a senior leader.
Robsonshaw Solicitors were instructed and immediately obtained copies of the conviction and police file. We wrote to the organisation who initially denied it was at fault and said that our client had delayed her claim for too long. We argued that it was vicariously liable and responsible for the wrongdoings of the member. With the evidence of the conviction we persuaded the organisation that the delay had no effect and a fair trial was possible. An admission of liability was forthcoming. We obtained medical evidence of the effect of the abuse upon our client. We also argued that her career had been jeopardised by the abuse as it occurred when she was a school girl and affected her school results.
After negotiations our client received in excess of £30,000 by way of damages.
Sexual assault at work
Our client was employed as a support worker with responsibility for caring for handicapped people in a residential unit. The organisation employed agency workers.
One evening our client was joined by the agency worker, who started to speak to her about sex. He told her that he wanted to show her something, and then dragged her to the downstairs bedroom which the staff used for overnight duties. He then held her firmly, pulled down her top and bra and started to fondle her breasts and touch her genitals. He then went to kiss her with his tongue and she pushed him away. Our client managed to escape.
Our client subsequently learned that another female member of staff had also been sexually assaulted by the agency worker. This gave our client the confidence to report the matter to management and the police. The Agency worker was charged, pleaded guilty to sexual assaults and received a custodial sentence.
Robsonshaw Solicitors were instructed and immediately launched a claim against our client's employers. Initially our client’s employer denied liability and sought to blame the agency who had supplied the agency worker. In turn, the agency blamed the employer. We threatened proceedings against both organisations and argued the employer had a duty to protect our client at work.
Following complex arguments surrounding the legal arrangements between the agency and our client's employer, she received a four figure award of compensation.
Sexual abuse at a tennis club
When our client was aged 13 years old and a promising tennis player, he attended the local tennis club where he was coached by the club captain. After an initial period of grooming where the club captain befriended our client, he started to sexually abuse him. On a regular basis our client was taken to his home, where he was forced to act out fetish scenarios involving canings, naked floggings and sado-masochist role-playing.
The captain was a school teacher and sought to explain away the abuse of our client by persuading him the abuse was part of his legitimate “scientific research” about the effects of corporal punishment on youngsters. The abuse was aggravated because humiliating photographs of our client were taken. Years later our client reported the abuse and the club captain was convicted of sexual assault.
Robsonshaw Solicitors were instructed and immediately obtained copies of the conviction and police file. We considered whether the tennis club was liable but discounted this as all the abuse had occurred at the perpetrators home and away from the club premises. We then conducted property searches to ascertain that the captain had a jointly owned property. We wrote to his partner, threatening Court proceedings for compensation enforceable against the matrimonial property.
We then negotiated a settlement that ensured our client received over £15,000 whilst allowing the partner to live in the property with her children.
Sexual assault in the armed forces
Our client was in the armed services, when in the 1980s he attended an informal drinks gathering in the barrack block where he and other junior service personnel lived and slept. An Officer attended the gathering. After the event concluded the Officer asked our client if he could stay the night as he lived too far away to walk home. Although our client was not at all keen he felt he had to agree as the Officer had made it quite clear he expected our client to allow him to stay over. Our client was only 18 years old and very junior. The Officer was between 35 to 40 years old and a senior NCO who had a reputation for making life difficult for recruits with whom he had fallen out. Our client therefore agreed.
Our client slept in his bed and the Officer slept on the floor. However, in the middle of the night our client was awoken from his sleep by the Officer sexually assaulting him. Our client jumped out of bed and ran out of the room.
Our client immediately reported the incident. An investigation followed and the Officer was the subject of Courts Martial proceedings. He was found guilty and convicted but he avoided a dishonourable discharge from the forces on a technicality, and was re-located elsewhere.
Robsonshaw Solicitors were instructed and we obtained copies of our client's services records to establish what had been recorded in his records at the time. We wrote to the MOJ who initially denied liability by arguing our client had delayed his claim too long and there was no evidence of the assault. Whilst the Courts Martial proceedings were not disclosed, they were referred to in our client's services files.
Our client had been too traumatised by the assault to bring a claim any earlier and we argued that a fair trial was still possible.
We obtained medical evidence of the affect upon our client of the assault and negotiated a settlement in excess of £10,000.
Sexual abuse at school
Aged 16, our client attended a local Sixth Form school when she first came into contact with a teacher who was later to sexually abuse her. The teacher was some 30 years older than our client and became very controlling. The teacher enjoyed a pastoral role of support and care with our client, which allowed the teacher to ingratiate themselves with our client and her family.
The teacher became increasingly manipulative and began a non-sexual relationship with our client. As a consequence, our client became isolated from school friends and family. The teacher sent our client text messages and frequently chaperoned her around and routinely told our client to whom she should speak and how she should conduct herself. Our client quickly became withdrawn from her friends and isolated
When our client reached 18, the teacher started an abusive sexual relationship with her. During lessons the teacher would favour our client and she suffered unwanted attention. Other students did not realise as the teacher was very discreet. On one occasion our client was bundled into a school store cupboard so the teacher could sexually assault her. On another occasion when the teacher drove our client home from school, the teacher pulled over and forcefully kissed her.
As a result of the abusive relationship our client suffered a complete loss of confidence in herself, and descended into a chaotic lifestyle. She suffered physical illness, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
The abuse was reported and an investigation concluded that the teacher had abused their position of trust by entering into an inappropriate relationship of a sexual nature with a student who was on the school roll at the time, but the police failed to prosecute due to our clients age.
The case was hard fought on a number of grounds. The school argued this was a consensual relationship between two adults. They said the teacher had legitimately waited until the girl was 18 before commencing a sexual relationship. They said our client was fully consenting and the school tried to argue there was no grooming until after 18, thereby avoiding a breach of the law.
In 2003, the Sexual Offences Act was amended to include abuse of a position of trust. This amendment to the legislation was designed to protect people aged 16 and 17 who, even though they are over the age of consent for sexual activity, are considered vulnerable to sexual abuse and exploitation. The school therefore denied liability on the basis our client had consented to the relationship and that it was not abusive. They also tried to argue the matter was out of time and our client should have raised the allegations sooner.
The case was eventually settled out of court following lengthy negotiations with the defendants. We were able to persuade the defendants that in fact, grooming had occurred prior to our client's 18th birthday and that they were therefore vicariously liable for their teacher's actions.
A five-figure award of damages was paid to our client.
Whilst no amount of compensation in a case such as this could return her teenage years, the compensation went some way to help her to recover and to ensure she could access specialist counselling to help her come to terms with what had occurred.
If you have experienced sexual abuse or sexual assault, under any circumstances, we can advise whether you have a case to claim compensation. Ask us for help.
Category: News Updates