The High Court has awarded a survivor from the national grooming gangs abuse scandal £425,000 in a “landmark” legal win against her rapist.
Liz, not her real name, started civil proceedings against her rapist Asghar Bostan in 2020 after she felt that the justice system had failed to sufficiently punish him.
In 2018, Bostan was jailed for 9 years at Sheffield Crown Court for raping Liz in a flat in Rotherham, where she was kept and abused for 10 weeks.
Liz was just 14 at the time. In a statement to the court, she has said that her childhood and teenage years were “destroyed” by Bostan and that her dreams of a normal adult life were wrecked by the damage he had done to her.
Bostan was released from prison in 2020 having served half of his sentence
Police handout
But even after Bostan was finally jailed after a National Crime Agency operation, Liz continued to be let down by the authorities.
In 2020, the Ministry of Justice apologised after Bostan was moved to an open prison without Liz being informed.
Bostan was eventually released from prison in 2022 having served half of his sentence.
But Liz now feels that she has taken back control of the case and her sense of justice after the High Court awarded a massive £425,924 in damages for the abuse she suffered.
Liz says her rapist ruined her childhood
GB News
Liz 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.
“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, told this broadcaster that he hoped the case would be an “icebreaker” 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.”
Tilbrook added: “These survivors have been let down by every British institution sworn to protect them, from local authorities, to the police, the courts and the government. But with our landmark case, we have shown that survivors can take justice into their own hands and give their rapists more of the punishment they deserve.”
Liz’s case was launched with support from Lord Pearson and Lord Vinson, who raised funds alongside free speech campaign group Hearts of Oak. She was also supported by Jayne Senior MBE, the Rotherham whistleblower who exposed the town’s child sexual abuse scandal.
Peter Mcilvenna, director of Hearts Of Oak, told GB News: “Liz has been admirably courageous to see the legal process through to this victory.”
“Other grooming gang survivors should take heart from her success and contact us at Hearts of Oak,” said Peter. “We would like her ground-breaking civil action to be just the start of a wider campaign to get compensation for more victims and to punish more grooming gang rapists where it hurts.”
Liz, who has written a book about her story in Rotherham as ‘Elizabeth Harper’, said: “This case is the start of a new era for the thousands of survivors from the grooming gangs scandal. Finally we can take control of our lives and our sense of justice. I feel at peace for the first time since I was a teenager.”
She added: “And I hope that the abusers out there still committing these crimes see these massive damages and think ‘that could be me’. I hope it gives them the fear of punishment that the authorities haven’t been able to deliver.”