Sex gang victim denied payout over ‘consent’
Criminal injuries board ruling left me suicidal, says victim, but it gave £50,000 payment to fantasist
The victim of an Asian grooming gang was told by a government body that she was not entitled to compensation because she had “consented” to her abuse.
Sammy Woodhouse, who was 14 years old when she was groomed, said the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority initially refused to make a payment to her, forcing her to appeal. Ms Woodhouse, now 32 and a campaigner who helped to expose the Rotherham scandal, said the letter had made her feel suicidal.
THE CHILD sex victim of an Asian grooming gang was told by a government body that she was not entitled to compensation because she had “consented” to her abuse.
Sammy Woodhouse, who was just 14 years old when she was groomed, has disclosed how the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) initially refused to make a payment to her. In a letter turning down her request for compensation, the CICA official told Ms Woodhouse: “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.”
Ms Woodhouse said the letter had made her feel suicidal. “It’s disgusting,” she told The Daily Telegraph. “I could have killed myself when I read that. They were saying it was my fault that I was a victim of rape and abuse from the age of 14.” An investigation by leading charities has shown how almost 700 child victims of sexual abuse have been turned down for payments since November 2012, when the latest scheme was introduced. Of those, 28 were refused compensation on grounds they had “consented”.
CICA, a taxpayer-funded scheme, is under mounting criticism. Last week, The Daily Telegraph disclosed how it had made compensation payments of up to £50,000 to a fantasist called Nick, who had falsely claimed he had been the victim of a paedophile gang
‘If an adult can think it’s a child’s fault for being abused, beaten, raped, you’re in the wrong job’
that included a former prime minister, a home secretary, a general and spy chiefs. “Nick” is now under investigation for fraud, although the CICA has no simple mechanism for reclaiming the money paid out.
In contrast, Ms Woodhouse, who has waived her right to anonymity, was a genuine victim of a child sex gang. She was abused from the age of 14 by Arshid Hussain, one of three brothers behind a Rotherham gang that abused more than 50 girls. She even had a child by him when she was 15. Hussain was jailed for 35 years in 2016 for 23 offences, including rape and indecent assault.
Ms Woodhouse, now 32 and a campaigner who helped to expose the Rotherham scandal, said: “If an adult can privately think that it’s a child’s fault for being abused, beaten, raped, abducted, you’re in the wrong job.”
She appealed against the CICA decision to refuse her compensation, was then offered a reduced amount and finally – after a series of exchanges – a payment close to the total to which she was entitled. Miss Woodhouse said it was “staggering” that while she was being refused compensation, “Nick” was being given thousands of pounds for false claims. “It is utterly bizarre they are giving money to people who make it up,” she said.
David Greenwood, her solicitor, said: “I am utterly shocked by the notion that decision-makers in a government organisation can consider that 14- or 15-year-old girls can consent to sex with adults.”
Charities have lambasted CICA. Javed Khan, Barnardo’s chief executive, said: “For children to be denied compensation on the grounds that they ‘consented’ to the abuse they have suffered is nothing short of scandalous.”