TWG v The Scout Association

Facts

The claimant, anonymised as TWG, was born in June 1958 and between 1966 and 1969 was a member of the First Midsomer Norton Scout Group in Somerset, operated by The Scout Association. Leroy Grubb, some seven years older than the claimant, was an assistant Cub Scout leader with the group. When the claimant was 10, Grubb began following him on his walk home from Thursday evening Cub meetings, intercepting him on a dark, unlit road within minutes of his leaving the Scout Hut, and sexually assaulting him — first requiring the claimant to masturbate him and later making him perform oral sex — accompanied by threats that it was "our secret". In July 1969 at Bath City Quarter Sessions Grubb was convicted of multiple counts of indecent assault on other males and asked for further offences to be taken into consideration, including an indecent assault on the claimant said to have occurred on 5 May 1969. Grubb was dismissed by the defendant. The claimant issued his claim form on 4 March 2024, seeking damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity, aggravated damages and treatment costs on the footing that the association was vicariously liable. The defendant denied any close connection between Grubb's role and the assaults, and pleaded limitation. The claim came on for trial before the High Court.