By Laura Woodhouse | 30 January 2008, 23:20

The rapist who won £7million on the Lottery can finally be sued by one of his victims, The Times reports:

One woman’s quest for justice against the so-called Lotto rapist ended in victory this morning with a court ruling that paves the way for thousands of sex abuse victims to sue their attackers for compensation.

In a landmark ruling, five law lords swept away the current bar on historic claims being brought for sexual assault. Until now, victims have been precluded by law from bringing a claim more than six years after an attack or, in child abuses case, more than six years after reaching majority at 18.

This morning’s ruling, revealed exclusively in The Times, means that a retired teacher known only as Mrs A can seek to claim compensation for attempted rape in Leeds in 1988 from her convicted attacker, Iorworth Hoare, who subsequently scooped £7 million on the lottery.

The much wider implication also paves the way for thousands of actions by victims of child sexual abuse to claim against their attackers or more likely their employers, such as local authorities if they were in care at the time of the attack.

About time too.