UNITED KINGDOM
The Guardian
Owen Bowcott, legal affairs correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 12 July 2012
A Roman Catholic diocese is liable to pay compensation for alleged beatings inflicted by a nun and sexual abuse perpetrated by a priest on a young girl, the court of appeal has ruled.
The decision, by a majority of two judges to one, will have far-reaching implications for the responsibilities of all employers, significantly widening the scope of their “vicarious liability” for the actions of employees.
The claim was brought by a 48-year-old woman known as JGE, who cannot be named for legal reasons. She said that as a child she was beaten by a nun at a convent-run care home and later raped and sexually assaulted by a priest.
Father Wilfred Baldwin, who has since died, was said to have abused her in the robing room on the day of her first communion. The facts of what took place are disputed: the Portsmouth diocese denies there was any abuse and insists a priest is an office holder not an employee.
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