Woman ordered to let man who sexually abused her live in the family home

A woman who was sexually abused by her mother’s partner for a decade has been ordered by a court to pay him £35,000 in damages - and let him live in the family home.

Kirsty Easthope, 52, has also been told by a judge to pay her own and convicted serial sex offender Arthur Hepple’s legal fees which are estimated to be around £100,000.

She has been told to furnish the £300,000 bungalow she inherited from her mother for him at her own expense.

The ruling follows a dispute over the will left by Kirsty’s mother Irma Barnett.

Her will stated that Hepple, now 84, should be allowed to live in the family home after her death for the rest of his life.

Mrs Barnett wrote the will in 2000 but died in 2013 aged 81 suffering from dementia and was unaware of the abuse, according to Kirsty.

Ms Easthope went to the police after her mother’s death to complain that he had sexually abused both her and her then-14-year-old daughter.

Hepple, who had no previous convictions, was given a suspended prison sentence in 2014 and put on the sex offenders’ register.

He was put behind bars for another sex attack on a woman and her teenage daughter in 2017.

But after being released from prison, Hepple insisted on returning to the former family home in York, North Yorks, which prompted a court battle.

Ms Easthope had rented the property out while he was in prison and Hepple contested his right to return to the detached bungalow when he was released from jail in October 2018.

Estate agent Ms Easthope didn’t allow him to re-enter and offered him alternative accommodation of three ground floor flats, which he denied.

Now, after he took the case to Leeds County Court, a judge has ruled in Hepple’s favour and Ms Easthope has had to evict her tenants.

And she faces a total bill of more than £100,000 after paying Hepple’s £61,000 legal costs and her own fees of £40,000.

Kirsty, who waived her legal right to anonymity to speak out about her ordeal, said: “I don’t understand how he doesn’t feel ashamed and how he can want to go back and live where he isn’t welcome.

“I have been a victim throughout all of this but there has been no compensation for my suffering but catastrophic financial consequences, and my mental health has suffered immensely.

“I’ve felt so devastated and hopeless that at times I felt life wasn’t worth living.

“With no remorse for his crimes, including the mental and physical anguish he had put me and my daughter through, he decided to take me to court.

“I was totally distressed, unable to sleep or eat.

“Had my mum known of Hepple’s actions, I fully believe she would have changed her will and removed him from her home.”

Ms Easthope said her mother started to develop dementia in 2003 and no longer had the ability to understand and change her will before she died in 2013.

She said that when Hepple was charged with the second set of sexual offences, he was remanded in custody and was then jailed for two years, three months.

The property was left empty, and she was advised she should rent it out by solicitors.

When she came out of prison, she said she was also advised by solicitors to not permit him to enter it but to offer suitable alternative accommodation.

He was offered it three times but refused each offer, insisting he return to the property she owned.

After a nearly three-year fight over the house, Ms Easthope now has to pay Hepple back which she said has made her go on medication for her mental health.

Kirsty, of York, North Yorks, said: “I was devastated and absolutely inconsolable and just distressed.

“I’ve had to be put on medication for my mental health because between Christmas and New Year because I was at the doctors’ and just in a right state.

“It’s all just devastating.”

“He just wants to cause me as much hurt as possible.”

Tragically, Hepple first started assaulting Ms Easthope after her mother was diagnosed with dementia in 2003 so she never knew that her own daughter was being abused.

Ms Easthope never reported him as she feared the police wouldn’t take her seriously and thought they would have ‘laughed her out of the building’ if she did try.

But Hepple then let himself into Ms Easthope’s house in 2013 and assaulted her daughter by sneaking up on her when she got out of the shower and tried to pull a towel off her.

She said: “At first I was shocked and embarrassed and I felt silly.

“I felt like it wasn’t a police matter because they would have just laughed me out of the building.

“So I would just tell him to stop because it’s wrong and because he thought of me as his daughter.

“I would always hope it would be the last time but he was so persistent.”

“But when he did it to my daughter, I just couldn’t have her living in fear like I had done.”

Ms Easthope’s dad Alan Barnett and Irma purchased the three-bedroom property in 1983, but Alan died at the age of 71 in 1996.

Irma then met Hepple through friends and introduced him to Ms Easthope in 1998, before he moved into the bungalow in 1999.

Ms Easthope said that her mum and Hepple were a normal couple and often went on holidays and out for meals together.

Ms Easthope said: “I don’t know what gives these evil men the gift of a long life.

“My dad died and never saw his grandchildren grow up but he was such a good man.

“He worked hard all of his life and didn’t drive so battled on his bike in all weathers to go to work to provide a nice home.

“He hated paedophiles and now he has got one living in it after everything he worked for and it’s just wrong.”

The mum-of-three’s family and friends have rallied around her and have even set up a Go Fund Me page to help Ms Easthope raise the money she needs.

She said: “It was amazing when it was set up as I wouldn’t have even thought of it myself.

“I had lost all hope to be honest and when it was set up, I just started to feel a bit more positive again.

“I just thought what if there is light at the end of the tunnel and that I could raise the money because they want it as soon as possible.

“How on earth do you just get your hands on that amount of money?”

You can donate to the fundraising page here.