Grooming gang rape victim was denied payout ‘ because she had consented’
‘You exercised your choice’
A VICTIM of a notorious Rotherham child grooming gang was refused compensation for the sexual abuse she suffered because a government body ruled she had ‘consented’ to her treatment. Sammy Woodhouse was 14 when she fell under the spell of 24-year-old Arshid Hussain and suffered years of appalling treatment.
She became pregnant by him and had an abortion, and later gave birth to his son at 15 despite being under the protection of social services.
But when she recently made a claim to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) she was told that although she was under age at the time she would not receive a payout for years of child sexual exploitation as she was deemed to have participated ‘willingly’.
Miss Woodhouse, who now campaigns on behalf of abuse victims after waiving her right to anonymity, was told in a letter from CICA that she would receive £11,000 for a single rape but nothing for the other sexual abuse.
‘I am not satisfied you were a victim of a sexual assault to which you did not in fact consent,’ the letter stated.
Her claim for five years of ‘ intimidation, threats and harassment’ was rejected outright due to ‘ insufficient evidence’.
The shocking letter reveals the apparent continuing refusal by officials to treat people such as Miss Woodhouse as genuine and deserving victims. She told the BBC1 Inside Out programme last night: ‘I keep hearing a lot of “we’ve learnt lessons”.
‘If an adult can privately think that it’s a child’s fault for being abused, beaten, raped, abducted, I think you’re in the wrong job.’
Miss Woodhouse, 32, contested the decision with the help of a solicitor and was eventually given an undisclosed sum, said to be the maximum amount she qualified for.
Hussain was brought to justice years after his reign of terror when it was revealed how he, his two brothers and their associates had raped, tortured and prostituted young white girls with impunity in the South Yorkshire town. Miss Woodhouse’s testimony helped to convict ‘Mad Ash’ who was jailed for 35 years for multiple offences at Sheffield Crown Court last year.
She had to relive her ordeal again as part of the compensation claim process and discovered attitudes had not changed enough since Professor Alexis Jay estimated 1,400 girls had been abused by predominantly Asian men in Rotherham as the police and council turned a blind eye.
Underage children cannot legally consent to sex, yet the letter from CICA bluntly dismissed her compensation claim for sexual abuse.
She was told: ‘ I am not satisfied that your consent was falsely given as a result of being groomed by the offender.
‘The evidence does not indicate that you were manipulated or progressively lured into a false relationship.
‘The offender did not conceal any aspects of his life to you, and for this reason, I am satisfied you chose to enter the relationship willingly and knowing the true character of the offender.’
The letter concluded: ‘ It appears you exercised your autonomous choice to engage in sexual activity with the offender.’
David Greenwood, her solicitor, told Inside Out that ‘significant’ numbers of compensation claims from abuse victims were being rejected on the basis of consent, suggesting ‘a system in place to minimise payouts’.
CICA said child sexual abuse was abhorrent and it was reviewing its staff guidance ‘to make sure that we identify every instance where grooming could be a factor’.