News & Events

Sexual Abuse

James Counsell KC and Ben Bradley appear in Supreme Court in Jehovah’s Witnesses adult sexual abuse case

Earlier this week, James Counsell KC and Ben Bradley appeared on behalf of BXB in the Supreme Court in Trustees of the Barry Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses v BXB. Having previously won at trial, and subsequently in the Court of Appeal, James and Ben represented BXB at the Supreme Court in her claim that the Trustees of the Barry Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses are vicariously liable for a rape committed on her by Mark Sewell, one of the Elders of the Congregation. This case represents the return of vicarious liability to the Supreme Court for the first time since the seminal cases of Barclays Bank and Morrisons. Over the course of the two-day hearing, James made submissions to the Court…

News 17 Feb, 2023

James Counsell QC and Ben Bradley appear in the High Court in sexual abuse claim against Manchester City FC

James Counsell QC and Ben Bradley represent eight victims in the High Court, seeking damages from Manchester City FC after suffering sexual abuse from one of the country’s most prolific sex offenders. James and Ben represent eight claimants who were subjected to sexual abuse by Barry Bennell whilst they were playing for Manchester City FC junior or ‘feeder teams’. These teams were set up by the Defendant, Manchester City FC, for the purpose of seeking to recruit a steady source of highly talented young footballers who were then of an age (under 14) when they could not be formally signed up to schoolboy contracts.  James told the Court that Barry Bennell was recruited by the Defendant to scout promising young…

News 25 Oct, 2021

Olinga Tahzib appears in virtual public hearing to examine child protection in religious organisations and settings

Olinga Tahzib appears this week in the second stage of the substantive hearing in the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse’s investigation into Religious Organisations and Settings. The hearing – which is being conducted entirely remotely – examines child protection policies and practices in religious organisations in England and Wales. These include Jehovah’s Witnesses, Baptists, Methodists, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, Hinduism, Buddhist and non-conformist Christian denominations. Yesterday, Olinga examined PR-A5, a former member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, who was abused as a child by Peter Stewart, a ministerial servant within the congregation. PR-A5 was the claimant in the landmark case of A v The Trustees of the Watchtower Bible Tract Society and Others [2015] EWHC 1722 (QB), in which she was…

News 11 Aug, 2020

What are the key takeaways of the IICSA’s report ‘Child sexual abuse in sports’?

IICSA has just produced its fourth Truth Project Thematic report, ‘Child sexual abuse in sports’. Patrick Sadd summarises the key takeaways of the report. The Report As with the first three reports – child sexual abuse in religious institutions (May 2019), in children’s homes and residential care (November 2019) and custodial institutions (April 2020) – this is drawn from the experience of victims and survivors between the 1950s and 2010s, here in the context of organised sports : sports clubs, institutions or associations or organised local sporting activity. The sample is small – of the 3,939 people giving their account between June 2016- March 2020, 2% described sexual abuse in a sports context, of which 91% were abused by sports…

Legal Blogs 22 Jun, 2020

Olinga Tahzib appears in virtual public hearing in Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse

Olinga Tahzib appears today in what is believed to be the UK’s first ever public inquiry to hear evidence in a virtual public hearing. The Hearing The hearing, which is part of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse’s investigation into Religious Organisations and Settings, runs from 11 – 22 May 2020. The original hearing which was due to take place in March was suspended after one day due to government advice regarding the Covid-19 pandemic. Since then, the Inquiry devised and tested a way of holding the hearing using video conference technology, ensuring the health and safety of all involved. The Timetable The revised timetable for the first week of the hearing can be found here. The hearing examines…

News 12 May, 2020

The Supreme Court on vicarious liability – where next for sexual abuse claims?

In April, the Supreme Court handed down two important judgments concerning vicarious liability against Barclays Bank and WM Morrison Supermarkets. Joshua Cainer looks at the impact on sexual abuse claims. On 1 April 2020 the Supreme Court handed down two important judgments concerning vicarious liability: Barclays Bank plc v Various Claimants [2020] UKSC 13 and WM Morrison Supermarkets plc v Various Claimants [2020] UKSC 12. Whilst the impact of these cases will be felt across all claims relying upon vicarious liability, this article considers the potential effects on the particular area of sexual abuse claims. It has been well-established since Various Claimants v Catholic Child Welfare Society [2012] UKSC 56 (at para [21]) that vicarious liability requires satisfaction of a…

News 17 Apr, 2020

James Counsell QC writes PI case analysis for LexisNexis PSL

“Football club vicariously liable for historical sex abuse but a girls’ boarding school is not.” LexisNexis PSL invited James Counsell QC to analyse his recent high profile sexual abuse cases. Following on from the judgment in BXB v Watch Tower (handed down on 30 January) come two more historical abuse judgments in claims brought against institutions—one against Blackpool Football Club and the other against a girls’ boarding school. Both claims raised very similar issues and were tried by the same Judge (Griffiths J) but they ended with diametrically opposite results. James Counsell QC acted for the claimants in all three cases and examined their implications for other cases in the pipeline, for Lexis Nexis PSL. Excerpt from article DSN v…

External Publications 30 Mar, 2020

James Counsell QC in second indemnity costs order after another historical abuse finding

Hard on the heels of the indemnity costs order made against Blackpool FC, comes a second judgment against Jehovah’s Witnesses relating to sexual abuse offences. James Counsell QC has secured yet another judgment on Monday 23 March (BXB v Watch Tower and Bible Tract Society of Pennsylvania and Another [2020] EWHC 656, LTL 24/3/2020 : [2020] 3 WLUK 321) just three days after he obtained judgment against Blackpool FC where the Defendant, this time the Jehovah’s Witnesses, refused to negotiate in the face of repeated efforts by the Claimant’s solicitors to engage them in settlement negotiations. Jehovah’s Witnesses Liable for Rape Chamberlain J had previously given judgment against the organisation on 30 January 2020 after he had found the organisation…

News 24 Mar, 2020

James Counsell QC secures costs against Blackpool FC in sexual abuse claim

In a judgment handed down on 20 March 2020, James Counsell QC obtained an indemnity costs order against Blackpool Football Club after the Judge, Griffiths J ,was critical of the Club for the way it refused even to enter into settlement discussions for its liability for sexual abuse offences by Frank Roper. The Court had earlier given judgment on liability and quantum on 13 March 2020 (read the earlier judgment here) in favour of the Claimant, known as DSN, in a claim for damages arising out of sexual abuse which he had suffered at the hands of Frank Roper, who worked for the club in the 1980s as a scout.  In that earlier judgment, Griffiths J had criticised the club for…

News 23 Mar, 2020

James Counsell QC successful in historical sex abuse claim against Blackpool FC

In the first of many cases in the pipeline to reach trial, James Counsell QC has obtained judgment against Blackpool FC for its liability for sexual abuse offences by scout Frank Roper in the 1980s. The case involved the responsibility of English professional football clubs for sexual abuse committed on young footballers in their charge.  James Counsell QC has obtained the first judgment of its kind against Blackpool Football Club for damages for its liability for sexual abuse committed by a convicted sex offender, Frank Roper during the time when Roper was working for the club as a scout in the 1980s. The Trial The Court heard that the Claimant, known as DSN at trial, was sexually abused when on…

News 16 Mar, 2020

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