Lotto rapist ruling implications

Iorworth Hoare can now be sued by his victim

Five Law Lords have ruled that abuse victims can sue their attackers more than six years after an attack took place.

Which groups, organisations and individuals are most likely to be affected by this decision?

CONVICTED ABUSERS

The Law Lords decided that £7m National Lottery winner and convicted rapist Iorworth Hoare could be sued by a woman known as Mrs A, after he was convicted of her attempted rape in 1989.

King always denied the charges against him

By the time Hoare won his fortune, the case was outside the six-year legal time limit - but now Mrs A will be able to pursue him for damages.

"I can see thousands of victims coming forward as a result of this decision," says David Greenwood of legal practice Jordans Solicitors.

Another wealthy convicted abuser who may be affected is pop mogul Jonathan King.

He was found guilty at the Old Bailey in September 2001 of sex offences against five youngsters aged 14 and 15 between 1983 and 1989.

By the time his victims came forward, they were barred from claiming damages under the Limitation Act. That has now been overturned.

CHURCHES

Between 1995 and 1999, 21 Roman Catholic priests in England and Wales were convicted of offences against children.

Following a report by Lord Nolan in 2001, the church implemented a string of reforms aimed at preventing abuse and says it has tightened up its practices.

Cases like Keaveney's could return to haunt the Catholic Church

But it may be vulnerable to private prosecutions relating to cases in which victims took many years to come forward.

One such case in November 2007 saw retired Father Dermot Keaveney convicted of a string of offences against two brothers at churches in Brighton and Hove between 1975 and 1982.

And the Law Lords ruled that Kevin Young, 46, may sue the church charity Catholic Care over abuse he says he suffered in one of its boarding schools as a pupil.

GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS

Mr Young was also given permission to sue the Home Office after he was abused by prison service worker Neville Husband at a juvenile detention centre during the 1970s.

Sex abuser Neville Husband was jailed for his offences

Husband admitted a series of sex attacks on young boys at Medomsley Detention Centre, Co Durham and was jailed for eight years in 2003.

Mr Young's claims had previously been barred by the Limitation Act until the Law Lords made reached their verdict.

LOCAL AUTHORITIES

By overturning legal time limits, the Lords ruled that victims can sue local councils over abuse they suffered while under their care.

In C v Middlesbrough Council, a man was given leave to pursue for damages over sexual abuse he suffered while a pupil at the authority's schools between 1982 and 1988.

The judge who heard his case said C would have been entitled to almost £100,000 had it not been for the Limitation Act.

In H v Suffolk County Council and X and Y v Wandsworth Borough Council, the claimants both came forward over a decade after being sexually abused by teachers.

Like C, they have now been given the green light to seek damages.