Settlement awarded to girl 'groomed by Telford martial arts trainer'
A girl who claimed she was groomed by a martial arts trainer who killed himself in Shropshire has been awarded damages from a government scheme supporting victims of crime.
Matthew Kendall, who was an instructor in Telford, shot himself in a rural car park near Church Stretton in October 2016.
A few days before his death he had been arrested on suspicion of grooming and bailed pending further inquiries.
The 39-year-old was never charged before his death but a girl said she was groomed over a 22-month period, starting when she was 14.
The girl has now been awarded damages by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA), a Ministry of Justice funded scheme to support victims of crime.
The girl’s mother says it is something she has never been able to fully discuss with her daughter, and feels she may not have revealed all that had happened to police.
The girl’s mother said: “She said that he’d told her that if she told anybody about what had been going on she’d be the one in trouble and that she’d likely get a criminal record which would impact on her career, and that was the reason she’d not said anything previously.
“She was worried. It was only when I stressed to her that she needed to speak out because I told her it could have monumental consequences that she did, and I am proud of her for doing so.”
Abuse
The mother said that she noticed a change in her daughter’s behaviour before the abuse was discovered, adding: “She wouldn’t sit in the living room with us, she wouldn’t talk to us.
“She would literally walk in the house and go straight upstairs to the bedroom.
“As it went on I kept asking her and she kept saying she was fine, but we could tell in herself she wasn’t happy, but we just put it down to being a typical teenager.”
The girl was represented by legal specialists Hudgell Solicitors.
Michelle Nurse, a specialist in handling claims to the CICA at Hudgell Solicitors, said: “This has been a very traumatic time for our client and her family and quite rightly she has been compensated for what has happened to her.
“The CICA scheme delivers justice in cases such as this where somebody has been the victim of a crime even where there is no criminal conviction, in this case due to the fact that the accused took his own life within days of being arrested on suspicion of grooming.
“By taking his own life he of course prevented there being the natural course of justice in criminal courts over his alleged crimes, and the opportunity to plead his innocence.
“We feel it is significant that the CICA has reflected upon the evidence presented to the police and have awarded damages to our client, and given his contact with many other young children, would like to speak to any other parents who may have concerns.”
Police have said there were no suspicious circumstances about Mr Kendall’s death.
At his inquest in Telford last June, Coroner John Ellery returned a conclusion of suicide.
