Grooming gangs survivor secures ‘landmark’ £425,000 legal win against rapist

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.

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 said: “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, said 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.”

Mr 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.”