Huge £425,000 damages payout for victim of Rotherham sex grooming gang raped as a child

A victim of the Rotherham sex-grooming scandal has been awarded £425,000 in a landmark legal win.​​​​​​​
By David Walsh
Published 29th Mar 2023, 06:07 BST
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A High Court judge made the order against Asghar Bostan, who was jailed for nine years in 2018. Bostan, a taxi driver in Rotherham, was convicted of twice raping a child between 2000 and 2002 after he groomed her with drugs and alcohol.

The woman, who has been granted life-long anonymity, started civil proceedings in 2020 after she felt the justice system had failed to sufficiently punish her attacker. In a statement to the court, she has said her childhood and teenage years had been “destroyed” and that her dreams of a normal adult life were wrecked by the damage he had done to her.

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In 2020, the Ministry of Justice apologised after Bostan was moved to an open prison without the woman he attacked when she was a child being informed. He was eventually released from prison in 2022 having served half of his sentence.

A High Court judge made the order against Asghar Bostan, who was jailed for nine years in 2018.A High Court judge made the order against Asghar Bostan, who was jailed for nine years in 2018.
A High Court judge made the order against Asghar Bostan, who was jailed for nine years in 2018.

Now, the High Court has awarded £425,924 in damages for the abuse the rape survivor endured.

She told GB News: “My rapist ruined my childhood, he ruined my chance at a career, he ruined my chance at a normal life. I’ve carried what he did to me for 20 years, and the authorities that should have protected me have always let me down.”

She added: “But now I finally have a sense of real justice. That’s why I sued my rapist, to prove that survivors can take matters into their own hands and fight back.

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“I was badly let down by South Yorkshire Police, Rotherham Council, the courts, the prison system, and many others, but this landmark case proves that survivors can now get their own justice even if the establishment fails them.”

Robin Tilbrook, Liz’s solicitor, said he hoped the case would pave the way for other survivors.Robin Tilbrook, Liz’s solicitor, said he hoped the case would pave the way for other survivors.
Robin Tilbrook, Liz’s solicitor, said he hoped the case would pave the way for other survivors.

Robin Tilbrook, representing the woman, said he hoped the case would pave the way for other survivors.

“We have broken the ice with this case. Hundreds of rapists have been convicted during the national grooming gangs catastrophe and they could all now face civil litigation for the damages they have caused.”

More than 1,400 children are thought to have been abused in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.