A WOMAN has been awarded more than £30,000 from a Bridgwater man in a lankmark ruling after a civil court heard allegations he abused her as a child.

John Haughton,67, known locally as Ricky, from Moorland, was cleared at taunton Crown Court in 2006 of indecently assaulting the woman when she was 11.

But she later launched a civil claim and at London’s High Court in Bebruary, Judge Justice Slade rule that “on the balance of probabilities” Haughton did indecently assault her on three occasions.

Mrs Justice Slade said there were striking similarities between one of the alleged indecent assaults and an assault on another 11-year-old girl, which Haughton was convicted of in 2003, but which had not been admitted as evidence in the 2006 trial.

Haughton continued to deny the charges from the 2006 crown court trial during the civil court case.

He admitted there had been occasions on which he had touched the girl, but said he was a tactile person and there was nothing sexual about his actions.

However, after ruling in her favour, Mrs Justice Slade awarded the woman £28,000 for damages, £653 interest and £3,640 for therapy sessions – a total of £32,293.

The court heard the victim had suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder; anxiety and other psychological problems as a result of the alleged abuse.

Afterwards, the woman, now in her 20s, said she was “delighted” with the result and had not been motivated by the money.

She is only a handful of claimants to win compensation in an indecent assault civil case.