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Lotto rapist victim thanks daily over law change fight

YEP successThe victim of a lottery-winning serial rapist has thanked a regional daily for its help in a four-year fight to change compensation law.

Shirley Woodman, pictured left, has spoken out about the support she received from the Yorkshire Evening Post in her campaign to change the law of limitations, meaning she could successfully claim for damages from her attacker Iorworth Hoare.

Hoare won £7m after buying a lottery ticket while on day release from prison in 2004, where he was serving a life sentence for the atttempted rape of Mrs Woodman in 1988.

At the time of the attack, he had previous convictions for rape, two further attempt rapes and three indecent assaults.

Mrs Woodman sued Hoare for damages when she heard of his win but, using the law of limitations, he argued that victims of sex attacks must make their claims within six years.

But with the YEP’s help she won a groundbreaking ruling from the Law Lords in 2008 that meant, in cases of serious assault, courts would have the discretion to extend that limit.

The ruling has since allowed victims of historical abuse, including those of Jimmy Savile, to claim damages.

Mrs Woodman waived her right to anonymity in 2012 after receiving the MBE and has now spoken publicly about the YEP’s help in her quest for justice.

In particular she highlighted an opinion piece by Anne Pickles, the newspaper’s features editor at the time of Hoare’s win, which said he should be made to pay.

Mrs Woodman told the YEP: “There were lots of letters saying this man should not be allowed to keep the money. Then Anne Pickles wrote her fantastic article.

“She was saying the very things I’d been saying to my family – about all this money going to him when his victims had been left with mental and probably medical problems.”

Mrs Woodman then made contact with Anne, and a meeting was held with the YEP, its legal team DLA Piper, a police officer and a solicitor for West Yorkshire Police – where all agreed to try and change the law of limitations.

The YEP and DLA Piper agreed to foot the bill if the case was lost, and a four-year fight began, which led to the case being taken all the way to the European Courts of Justice.

Mrs Woodman added: “Without the YEP I couldn’t have done it. The article that Anne Pickles wrote was the catalyst which set off a process which finally resulted in a change in the law.

“That’s probably one of the most important things the YEP has done.”