Paedophile sued by Scouts for £425,000 after victim compensation claim

A paedophile scoutmaster jailed for 25 years after abusing boys over three decades is now being sued for more than £400,000 over a compensation claim by one of his victims.

Victor Jacob, former Scout leader and caretaker and tuck shop manager, was jailed in 2021 after being convicted of 36 sex offences against five victims.

Jacob, 81, who in later life lived in Balmoral Crescent, Macclesfield, was labelled "dangerous" by the judge who sentenced him and is currently incarcerated in a cell at HMP Isle of Wight.

But he is now being sued at London's High Court by The Scout Association and the London Borough of Bromley, over a compensation payout they say they were "required" to hand to one of Jacob's victims.

Court papers say that the scouts and the local authority are now seeking to "recover" the money they paid out to the unnamed victim, along with their legal costs, from the jailed sex offender personally.

Lawyers for the two bodies say in a court document lodged in May this year at the High Court in London: "The claimants seek an order for payment in the sum of £427,005.99 from the defendant.

"The sum claimed is a recovery of sums pad by the claimants to a third party who brought a personal injury claim against both claimants arising out of the defendant's conduct towards the third party, as well as the claimants' own costs in dealing with the claim.

"The claimants were required to settle the claim due to being vicariously liable for the defendant's conduct and furthermore, the defendant was convicted of the conduct that was the subject matter of the claim.

"The claimants also seek their costs of this action."

Jacob, whose defence to the civil action is not yet available from the court, was sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court in September 2021 after being found guilty of 36 offences following a five week trial.

The trial heard evidence that he had encouraged young boys to join his troop, groomed boys and their families to gain their trust and used his positions at the school and the scouts to abuse them.

In 2017, three men came forward to police independently of each other and alleged that they had been abused as boys by Jacob.

An investigation was launched by detectives at the South East Public Protection Team, who identified a further two victims.

The abuse occurred over a period of almost three decades, from 1979 to 2007, and included multiple incidents of indecent assault on boys under 16 years, causing a child to engage in sexual activity, engaging in sexual activity with a child and indecency with a child.

Judge Christopher Kinch KC, jailing Jacob for 25 years, told him: “Your apparent good character at the time enabled you to commit all those offences. You showed no remorse for your actions, and maintained innocence. There is very little that can be said on your behalf.

"You are dangerous”.

The judge also commended “the bravery and fortitude shown by all of the victims in this case”.

Detective Constable Mark Tarrant, of the South East Public Protection Team, had commented after the sentencing: “Jacob’s conviction and sentence is a prime example that no matter the passage of time, the Metropolitan Police Service will seek to investigate and punish those who abuse vulnerable people.

"The five boys he abused are now men and have carried the weight of what happened to them for an incredibly long time. I commend each of them for their bravery through what has been a distressing process.

"No more victims will suffer at Jacob’s hands, and I hope that allows all five men some comfort as they move on with their lives.”