A man who alleged he was repeatedly sexually and physically assaulted as a child at a former North Devon boarding school four decades ago has been awarded almost £100,000 in damages by a Government scheme.
The man, now 56, of Brighton, has been awarded the compensation settlement by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA), a Ministry of Justice-funded scheme which supports victims of violent crime.
The damages have been paid in relation to sexual and physical abuse he alleges he suffered at Dennington College (later known as Russell College), in Barnstaple, North Devon, in the late 70s and early 80s.
However, lawyers who acted on his behalf and secured the final settlement say he faced ‘far too many barriers to justice’.
This was because his application was twice rejected due to ‘lack of evidence’, with the legal firm having to take the case to a Tribunal to eventually secure damages – and point out an award had been made previously to another alleged victim at the same college.
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CICA had already paid damages to another victim
The man had reported the matter to the police on three separate occasions in the 80s, 90s and 2000s, only to be told nothing could be done.
When he applied to the CICA on the advice of his Community Psychiatric nurse in 2019, the authority was already in the process of handling another claim from another alleged victim, who had started his application two years earlier.
That man was eventually awarded £113,000 damages settlement in August 2021, yet just three months later, in December 2021, the CICA contacted the second applicant to say his case had been rejected due to ‘lack of evidence’.
It was at this stage the man instructed the specialist CICA claims team at Hudgell Solicitors.
A subsequent review of the case saw his claim rejected for a second time in May 2022, before his legal team launched an appeal for his case to be reviewed by a Tribunal panel, which found in his favour, with the CICA eventually awarding £99,530 damages.
‘Too many barriers to justice’
Tracy Thames, of Hudgell Solicitors’ specialist CICA claims team, said the man had faced ‘far too many barriers’ to making a claim.
She is now representing a number of others who have alleged that they were also victims of abuse at Dennington College during the same time period. Mrs Thames said:
There was a clear failure here to join the dots at the CICA
I’d represented the previous person who had been awarded damages in 2021, in that case, the police had confirmed that the alleged abuser had possibly had previous convictions relating to sexual offences against children and that other pupils had possibly made allegations against him.
This latest case related to the same college and the same alleged perpetrator, in a similar timeframe, but it was rejected on a lack of evidence.
It is alleged that he was subjected to sexual and physical abuse as well as witnessing many other incidents of abuse against other young residents, over a five year period, when he was aged about 10 to 15.
My client was forced to see his claim rejected twice before we submitted extra evidence, including pointing out the 2021 case and settlement, as well as providing detailed psychological assessments.
That enabled us to take the matter to a tribunal, eventually being awarded the substantial damages he was entitled to.
CICA awards provide damages, but also ‘recognition and closure’
Mrs Thames says CICA damages awards are hugely important for many victims, beyond the financial compensation. She said:
For people who have carried trauma from abuse such as this for decades, the CICA process is often their route to some sort of official acceptance of what they were subjected to, and also to securing some form of possible closure.
People clearly suffered horrific, widespread sexual and physical abuse at this college during the late 70s and 80s and the CICA must do better when people come forward looking for support in cases where there is a collective picture of abuse and suffering.
All who we are currently supporting have suffered substantial psychological harm as a result of the physical abuse they endured. We will be looking to secure damages for all who were affected by what they endured as young children at this college.
