Top judge’s widow in court over ‘sex abuse of boy under 12’
THE widow of a former Court of Appeal judge was on trial yesterday accused of sexually abusing a boy in the 1980s.
Lady Nourse, 77, who was married to Sir Martin Nourse, is charged with 17 counts of abusing a boy under the age of 12.
Jennifer Knight QC, prosecuting, said the alleged victim had ‘ never told anyone’ about what Nourse, of Newmarket, Suffolk, reportedly did to him.
She added: ‘He tried to bury away the memories and not to think about them.’ Years later the complainant married and had children and ‘ became increasingly troubled by his recollection’.
This led him to confide in his wife and he later reported his allegations to the police, according to Miss Knight.
The charges, which all relate to the same male complainant, are five counts of indecently assaulting a boy and 12 counts of indecency with a child.
Nourse, who was first interviewed by officers in 2019, denies all the claims which date back to the 1980s.
The two-week trial is being heard in Peterborough’s Nightingale court.
The venue, in the grounds of the Knights’ Chamber at the city’s cathedral, is one of the courts set up to help clear the backlog of cases caused by the pandemic.
Lavinia Nourse was a public relations worker and she married Sir Martin in 1972.
Nourse has a keen interest in racing and bought her husband a share in a horse, Peace Prize, which proved to be a good investment. The horse won two of its seven races, including the Tamdown Handicap at Newmarket in June 2015 – a moment Sir Martin regarded as a highlight in his life.
Nourse and Sir Martin were also known for hosting parties for friends at their country home, Dullingham House, near Newmarket in Suffolk. The early 18th-century property is set in grounds designed by Humphry Repton, regarded as the successor to Capability Brown. Nourse has since moved but still lives in Newmarket.
Sir Martin – who was a property and tax expert – died in 2017 aged 85. One of the most notable cases he presided over was in 1979 when he allowed the Inland Revenue to sue the estate of Selfridges billionaire Sir Charles Clore.
Sir Charles had claimed to be domiciled in Monaco, which would reduce inheritance tax to around £20million. But Sir Martin ruled he was ‘far from satisfied’ that he had ‘reached the point of abandoning England’ after hearing the e vidence of friends, allowing the potential claim to increase to £75million.
The eminent judge retired in 2006 but he continued to sit as deputy chairman of the Takeover Panel Appeal Board until 2015.
‘He tried to bury the memories’