Successful compensation claim for man who was abused at school in the 1960s
If you have been abused at school and would like to know if you can claim compensation, then call us in total confidence on FREEPHONE 0333 888 0445 or send an email to [email protected]
Carly Sylvester has recently recovered compensation for a man who was abused at school many years ago.
Her client had been sexually assaulted by a priest and teacher while he was a schoolboy. The abuse occurred between 1968 and 1969, with the abuse taking place on over a dozen occasions. The abuse only came to an end when our client, who was then eight years of age, moved out of the local area with his family and started attending a new school.
Our client told his parents about the abuse, but they did not believe him. This resulted in him feeling unable to report the matter to the Police as he feared not being taken seriously. He tried to put the abuse behind him and get on with his life, but he found it very difficult to do so.
In 2020 he looked up his abuser online and discovered that he was not the only boy to have been abused by him. This made him feel that he might in fact be believed after all, and therefore made the decision to report the matter to the Police.
However, when he reported the abuse he was informed that no criminal action could be taken as his abuser had died. He therefore made the decision to pursue a civil claim for compensation against the school. He contacted our free legal helpline and we agreed to make a compensation claim for him on a no win – no fee basis.
The school initially denied legal responsibility on the basis that the claim was out of time and because the abuser had died it meant that a fair trial was not possible. In spite of this, we carried on with the claim and were ultimately successful in negotiating an out of court settlement, with our client receiving a five-figure sum.