Kirsty Easthope told to pay £35k to Arthur Hepple who assaulted her

Arthur Peter Hepple was given a suspended prison sentence in 2014 for sexual attacks on Kirsty Easthope and her teenage daughter, and he was subsequently jailed in 2017 for sexually assaulting a different woman and her daughter.

Now a county court judge has ordered Kirsty to pay Hepple £35,248.75 in damages following a hearing in Leeds relating to her mother Irma Barnett's will.

Kirsty says she faces a total bill of more than £100,000 after paying Hepple's legal fees and her own fees of £40,000, and she cannot afford to risk further costs by appealing.

Arthur Peter Hepple, pictured in 2017 when he was jailed for sexually assaulting a second mother and daughter (Image: Kirsty Easthope)

In her 2000 will, Irma left Kirsty her home in Avon Drive, Huntington, but inserted a clause entitling Hepple to live there for the remainder of his life without condition.

Kirsty said her mother started to develop dementia in 2003-2004 and no longer had the ability to understand and change her will before she died in 2013.

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

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, leaving the property empty, and she was advised she should rent it out.

"I was concerned at the property standing empty indefinitely," she said. But after being released in 2018, Hepple demanded access to the property.

Kirsty Easthope, who must pay £35,000 in damages to Arthur Peter Hepple, the man who sexually assaulted her and her daughter, following a legal wrangle over her late mother's will (Image: Kirsty Easthope)

She said she was advised not to permit him to re-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.

"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," she said. "I was totally distressed, unable to sleep or eat."

She said that after the judge ruled in Hepple's favour, she now had to evict her tenants and permit him back into her property later this month, in a street where the neighbours no longer welcomed him and were 'aware of his vile crimes'.

Arthur Peter Hepple, pictured with Kirsty's late mother Irma Barnett (Image: Kirsty Easthope)

Kirsty, who waived her legal right to anonymity to speak to The Press, 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."

Hepple was offered opportunity to comment by The Press but declined.

• A friend has launched a campaign to help raise £100,000 for Kirsty, with £500 raised so far, which can be found at www.gofundme.com/f/victims-legal-fight-against-her-abuser?member.