Gráinne Mellon of the Garden Court Chambers Civil Liberties team represented the six-year-old, in a claim for damages under the Human Rights Act 1998.
Gráinne Mellon, instructed by Andrew Lord at Leigh Day Solicitors, secured compensation for a six-year-old boy following alleged failures to prevent a sexual assault from taking place in school.
After the local authority dismissed the first assault as “normal exploration”, further assaults allegedly happened on school premises.
The civil claim included a claim for damages, that was brought against the school and the local authority under Articles 3 and 8 ECHR. It was alleged that the failure to conduct a thorough investigation and/or put in place sufficient measures to prevent further sexual assaults from taking place was negligent and a breach of the child’s human rights.
The school and local authority conceded that there had been a breach of duty but did not admit liability. A five-figure settlement was eventually reached and was approved by the High Court
This is understood to be one of the few “peer on peer” abuse cases to have come before the courts in recent years.
Further information in relation to the case can be found here.
Gráinne is a member of our Public Law, Civil Liberties and Human Rights and Education Law teams.
