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	Priest Abuse Victim in £4m Damages Setback lep March 9, 2010 http://www.lep.co.uk/news/Priest-abuse-victim-in-4m.6132873.jp UNITED KINGDOM -- A former top City lawyer whose school days were blighted by sickening sexual abuse at the hands of a Jesuit priest has suffered a legal setback in his quest for more than £4m compensation. High Court judge Mrs Justice Swift ruled in May last year that Patrick Raggett, now 51, had been subjected to humiliating sexual assaults and abuse, sometimes several times a week, at the Preston Catholic College, by Father Michael Spencer, who has since died. She also decided that, although more than 30 years have passed since the abuse, it was "equitable" to allow Mr Raggett to pursue his damages claim against the school's governors. His lawyers say his hopes of a stellar career in commercial law were destroyed by the trauma of the abuse, and have valued his claim at £4,380,000. However, the governors are now challenging Mrs Justice Swift's ruling at the Court of Appeal, in London, where a top judge today said it was "arguable" that Mr Raggett's claim should be blocked because of the long delay in him launching his case. Pointing out that many witnesses had died since Mr Raggett's school days, Steven Ford, for the governors, argued it was now impossible for them to have a fair hearing, in particular on the issue of whether Mr Raggett had suffered financial loss as a result of the abuse. "It is extremely difficult, so many years after the event, to put together a defence to this type of allegation," he told the court. Lord Justice Hughes said that Mr Raggett's account of the abuse he suffered at Father Spencer's hands had been "corroborated in spades" by other witnesses. However, granting permission to appeal, he said it was "at least open to question" whether the delay would deprive the governors of a fair opportunity to defend Mr Raggett's claim. The governors' case will now go before three Appeal Court judges in the next few months, although no date was fixed. The High Court heard last year how Mr Raggett suffered a catastrophic mental breakdown after memories of the abuse by Father Spencer returned to haunt him many years later. Since then, his life and career have been overshadowed by memories of being used as a 'sexual plaything' by the priest.
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