Widow of High Court judge on trial for ‘sexual abuse of young boy in the 1980s’
THE widow of a High Court judge went on trial yesterday accused of sexually abusing a young boy in the 1980s.
Lady Lavinia Nourse, 77, denies 12 charges of indecency with a child under 12 and five of indecent assault.
The alleged offences relate to the same male, the Nightingale court in Peterborough was told.
Jennifer Knight QC, prosecuting, said the boy had “never told anyone” about what Nourse allegedly did to him.
“He tried to bury away the memories and not to think about them,” Ms Knight said.
The alleged victim got married and had children but years later “became increasingly troubled by his recollection”.
Ushered
Ms Knight said he told his wife what allegedly had happened to him and later reported his claims to police.
Nourse, of Newmarket, Suffolk, was first interviewed by detectives in 2019.
She insists the alleged incidents of abuse did not happen, Ms Knight said.
Nourse looked strained as she arrived by car for the hearing.
Wearing a blue face mask, she was met by a barrister and a court official before being ushered into the building.
The trial is taking place in the Knights’ Chamber of Peterborough Cathedral.
Peterborough is one of 10 cities hosting Nightingale courts to help reduce a backlog of cases caused by the pandemic. It is a non-secure court and does deal with custody cases.
Nourse was married to Sir Martin Nourse, a Lord Justice of Appeal.
Educated atWinchester College and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, he was called to the Bar in 1956 following National Service in the Army.
Sir Martin became a Queen’s Counsel in 1970 when he was just 38 and was appointed a High Court judge 10 years later.
He retired from the Court of Appeal in 2006 and died in 2017 aged 85.
Following his death, a spokesman not
for Sir Martin’s former chambers said: “He was a dignified figure, but exceptionally courteous.
“He never forgot a name of anyone in a family and took care with the youngest or least significant in a room.
“His judgments were and well-phrased.”
Sir Martin had a wide range of interests and a “great sense of humour,” according to friends.
He enjoyed cricket, the theatre and Dutch paintings.
Living close to the race course at Newmarket, he also had a passion for the Turf.
In his later years, his wife bought him a share in a horse called Peace Prize, which won two of its seven races.
The victories included one at Newmarket in June 2015, a moment that Sir Martin was said to have regarded as a high point in his life.
The trial continues. orthodox,