One of Emmott Snell’s clients (hereafter referred to in this article as “Ms T”, to protect her identity) has successfully obtained an out-of-court settlement after bringing a civil compensation claim against a parish in the Diocese of Chichester for alleged sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of a priest whilst she was a choir member at her local church.
The vicar ‘’Revd Peter Bennett’’ (now deceased) of the church used his pastoral position to gain access, groom, and sexually assault Ms T.
Circumstances/background to the claim
When Ms T was 13, she joined the church choir the local church, where Revd Peter Bennett was the vicar. Her family were not churchgoers, but she was a talented singer and wanted to escape home life which was unhappy. Ms T sang in the choir at services and events, and she attended regular rehearsals.
When Ms T was around 13 years old she alleges she was sexually assaulted by Revd Peter Bennett for the first time, whilst she was alone with him in his car. He continued to regularly sexually assault Ms T in his car, in the church and in the church vestry. When Ms T protested, he told her he was making her feel ‘’loved’’.
On an occasion, Revd Peter Bennett invited Ms T to his home one afternoon on the pretext to study, but once she arrived, she realised he was home alone. Revd Peter Bennett took her virginity. This was repeated on a second occasion.
Over 50 years later, Ms T felt unable to contain her memories much longer and bravely reached out to a local vicar, who immediately reported Mrs T’s disclosure to the Chichester Diocese, and support was offered to Mrs T.
Due to Revd Peter Bennett being deceased when Mrs T disclosed the abuse she suffered, Mrs T felt there was no point in reporting the matter to the police, and instead directed her complaint to the Chichester Diocese.
Mrs T received a letter of apology from the Bishop. The Bishop explained that Revd Peter Bennett was known to the Diocese, as a similar report of sexual abuse by him had been received.
The steps to success of the compensation claim:
1. Contacting Emmott Snell Solicitors
Mrs T approached Emmott Snell Solicitors as an adult, after the abuse she suffered was disclosed to Chichester Diocese. This meant that Mrs T was bringing her claim out of time. There are rules in force since the Limitation Act 1980 which means that if a child is harmed, they must register their compensation claim before their 21st birthday. This principle is known as ‘’limitation’’, however, the courts can disapply this rule in certain cases.
2. Notifying the other side of the claim
A letter of claim was sent to the church which detailed the abuse that Mrs T suffered and importantly it argued that the church was legally responsible for the actions of Revd Peter Bennett. This is because there was a was a sufficiently close connection between Revd Peter Bennett’s duties and responsibilities as a vicar and his assaults upon Ms T who was in his church choir to make the church vicariously liable. The letter concluded that the church should be held legally accountable for the abuse Ms T suffered at Revd Peter Bennett’s hands.
3. Considering their response
The matter was passed to insurers who contacted Emmott Snell Solicitors acknowledging the letter of claim and asking for further information and records, specifically police records. As no such police records exist, due to Ms T not reporting to the police, Ms T’s medical records and Chichester Diocese / Survivor Network records were sent to the insurers.
The insurers also offered to fund an initial assessment for online therapy for Ms T.
4. Medical evidence
The next step was to have Ms T examined by a court expert, a consultant psychiatrist whose report helped to quantify her claim.
The expert noted that Ms T had suffered depressive episodes in a recurrent depressive disorder, anxiety disorder and an adjustment disorder. The expert also noted that the abuse Ms T suffered was sufficiently severe enough to have given rise to Post-traumatic Stress Disorder.
The report also commented on how the abuse had adversely affected many aspects of Ms T’s life, including her close relationships and her work over the years.
5. Meeting with a barrister
After receiving the medical report, a meeting with a barrister with expertise in claims of this nature was arranged. He advised Ms T on all aspects of her claim including the likely level of compensation Ms T might recover if her claim proceeded to trial.
6. Schedule of Mrs T’s financial losses
A schedule of Ms T’s financial past and future losses was prepared which included the cost of her past treatment and the treatment that was recommended by the court expert.
7. Serving the documents to the other side
Once finalised, the schedule of financial loss and the expert medical report were served on the church’s insurers.
8. Negotiations and settlement
Following some negotiations, Ms T’s claim was settled for a five-figure sum.
Ms T has stated that she was ‘’very satisfied’’ with the management of her case by Tracey Emmott, and she rated our services as ‘’excellent’’ across the board.
Emmott Snell would also like to take this opportunity to applaud Ms T for her bravery in coming forward and reporting her abuse to the Diocese of Chichester.
Emmott Snell Solicitors have successfully represented many victims of abuse by church leaders who have pursued “out of time” claims for compensation. If you are considering making such a claim, please contact us.
We will be only too pleased to discuss this further with you.
