Victim wins right to sue 'Lotto rapist'

The victim of a sex attacker who went on to win millions of pounds on the lottery won the right to sue him on Wednesday.

In a landmark ruling, the Law Lords said the woman, known only as Mrs A, could seek compensation for the attempted rape in Leeds two decades ago.

Her attacker, Iorworth Hoare, dubbed the "Lotto rapist" by the press, had no money when he was jailed for life at Leeds Crown Court in 1989 for the crime.

He had previously subjected six other women to serious sexual assaults, including rape.

In 2004, he won 7 million pounds after buying a lottery ticket during day release from prison shortly before being freed on parole.

The Law Lords move sweeps away a bar on historic claims being brought for sexual assault and paves the way for thousands of sexual abuse victims to sue their attackers or local authorities, if they were in care at the time of the attack.

Until now, victims have been prevented by law from bringing a claim more than six years after an attack or, in child abuse cases, more than six years after reaching majority at 18.

Mrs A, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was 59 when Hoare attacked her as she walked in Roundhay Park, Leeds, in broad daylight in 1988.

She argued that Hoare should be made to pay for his "violent and disgusting sexual assault" that had left her mentally scarred, and took her case to the highest court in the country after she was told that too much time had lapsed for her to bring an action.

Mrs A, a retired teacher, did not sue for damages at the time of Hoare's imprisonment because she had been told his lack of funds would have made it pointless, and was instead awarded 5,000 pounds from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board.

Her later attempts to win the right to sue him in the High Court and Court of Appeal failed, and she was ordered to pay Hoare 100,000 pounds in legal fees, because of the six-year time bar to sue for damages under the Limitation Act 1980.

The Law Lords victory is, however, not the end of the road: she still has to go back to court to see whether her claim will be allowed to proceed.