Ex-wife f ights for share of child abuse victim’s £175k compensation
AN ESTRANGED wife is trying to claim part of the £175,000 compensation her husband received for suffering sexual abuse as a child.
As part of her divorce settlement, Helen Tippett, 41, has applied to the courts for a share of the cash paid to Andrew Kerslake.
Mr Kerslake, 45, regarded the compensation as ‘dirty money’ and put it into a trust to be given to charity when he dies.
But Miss Tippett claims the money is a marital asset and wants her share of it. It is believed legal history will be made if the courts find in her favour.
Mr Kerslake was molested between the ages of five and ten by a family friend. After he finally went to the police in 1998 his abuser was jailed for three years.
The father-of-four was paid £175,000 by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority – a government organisation which pays damages to victims of violent crime – in 2002. He set up the Andrew Kerslake Trust and the fund has grown to almost £250,000 after being invested by his lawyers.
Mr Kerslake, who has waived his right to anonymity as a victim of sexual abuse, said: ‘I was given the money to compensate for what happened to me when I was a very young boy.
‘I was abused over 500 times, every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. It left me with both physical and emotional damage.
‘I didn’t apply for the money, I didn’t really want it at the time. But I’m not prepared to hand it over as part of our divorce settlement. It doesn’t seem right that my ex-wife should get a penny of it – it does not belong to her, she wasn’t the one who was abused.
‘It is shameless and immoral that she is even trying. I’m very disappointed in her.’
When the compensation was paid the couple were happily married. Miss Tippett was studying for a humanities degree and Mr Kerslake was a stay-at-home father. He said: ‘My wife wanted to spend it, she wanted a beautiful house, she had all sorts of ways of spending it. But to me it was dirty money ... I could not bring myself to use it.’
Mr Kerslake, a devout Roman Catholic, wants the fund to be his legacy and has given instructions about how it should be used to help other victims of abuse.
His 19-year marriage came to an end four years ago and he has since become estranged from his children. His wife reverted to her maiden name, and Mr Kerslake believes she is now in a relationship with Jarrod Williams, who is 11 years her junior.
Mr Kerslake, who walks with the aid of crutches after breaking his back in a fall, said: ‘They say they are not living together but he posts pictures of the two of them in bed on Facebook.
‘I’m concerned some of that money would end up in his pocket. That can’t be right.’
Mr Kerslake said he now suffers from a variety of health problems. His legal team say that if Miss Tippett wins the case it will be the first time compensation paid to a sex abuse victim has been part of a divorce settlement.
He said: ‘I don’t want people to think I put the money in a trust to stop Helen getting her hands on it – that is not the case.
‘I just don’t want the money myself and it is my wish it will be divided between two charities of my choice when I die.
‘It was paid to me for something that happened long before I met Helen. I still have to live with the consequences of that.’
Mr Kerslake lives alone in a housing association bungalow in Llanharan, near Bridgend in south Wales.
His estranged wife now works part-time in a church breakfast club and claims she needs the money to buy a house for herself and her two youngest children.
Miss Tippett was accompanied by Mr Williams at two preliminary hearings at the County Court in Pontypridd. She refused to comment on her claim, which is due to be decided in September.
‘To me it was dirty money’