Lady Lavinia Nourse, 77, the widow of former Lord Justice of Appeal Sir Martin Nourse, ‘sexually abused a boy under the age of 12 in the 1980s’, as court hears he ‘buried the memories until years later when he was married with children’
- Lady Lavinia Nourse, from Suffolk, is charged with historical sexual abuse of boy
- She was married to Sir Martin Nourse, High Court judge who died aged 85, 2017
- Lady Nourse is on trial at Peterborough’s Nightingale court at city’s cathedral
- The 77-year-old denies 17 counts of sexually abusing a boy under the age of 12
The widow of a High Court judge has gone on trial charged with the historical sexual abuse of a young boy in the 1980s.
Lady Lavinia Nourse, of Newmarket in Suffolk, was married to Sir Martin Nourse, who died in 2017 aged 85.
The 77-year-old has gone on trial at Peterborough’s Nightingale court, in the Knight’s Chamber at the city’s cathedral, where she denies 17 counts of sexually abusing a boy under the age of 12.
The charges, which all relate to the same male complainant, are five counts of indecently assaulting a boy and 12 counts of indecency with a child.
Lavinia Nourse, 77, arrives at Knights Chamber, Peterborough Cathedral Visitor And Learning Centre, Peterborough, The charges relate to the period 1981 to 1990
Lady Lavinia Nourse, of Newmarket in Suffolk, was married to Sir Martin Nourse (pictured), who died in 2017 aged 85
Lady Lavinia Nourse, pictured circa Spring 1997. Lady Lavinia and Sir Martin Nourse married in 1972
Jennifer Knight QC, prosecuting, said the boy had ‘never told anyone’ about what Lady Lavinia did to him.
‘He tried to bury away the memories and not to think about them.’
She said that, years later, after the complainant got married and had children, he ‘became increasingly troubled by his recollection’.
Lavinia Nourse arrives at Knights Chamber where she is charged with 17 counts of sexually abusing a boy under the age of 12
The defendant claims that the alleged incidents of abuse did not happen, Jennifer Knight QC, prosecuting, said
Ms Knight said the complainant told his wife what had happened to him and later reported his allegations to police, with Lady Lavinia first interviewed by officers in 2019.
The defendant claims that the alleged incidents of abuse did not happen, Ms Knight said.
Lady Lavinia and Sir Martin Nourse married in 1972 and had two children together. The couple moved to Newmarket, Suffolk, in 1994.
Sir Nourse specialised in the Commercial Court and Chancery Division at the Court of Appeal, he retired in 2006 but continued to sit in the court part-time.
The trial continues.