Exercise of the court’s discretion

EB v Haughton [2011] EWHC 279 (QB)

Counsel: For the claimant: Justin Levinson For the defendant: James Townsend Solicitors: For the claimant: Verisona For the defendant: Pardoes

This was a claim for damages from the defendant for psychological suffering caused by his having allegedly sexually abused her over the course of a year in 1993, when she was aged between 10 and 11 years. She claimed that the defendant had stroked her legs and breasts, and that on one occasion he had once digitally penetrated her vagina, pretending to give her a massage. She had informed social services in 1994 that she was uncomfortable in the presence of the defendant, and had told a friend and a foster carer about some of the assaults.