A GROUP of women who accused one of the region's leading psychiatrists of sexual assault yesterday received thousands of pounds in an out-of-court settlement.
The 16 women will each receive a share of a £300,000 payment agreed with the former Yorkshire Regional Health Authority, which employed Dr William Kerr. He had worked for the authority as a psychiatrist, primarily in North Yorkshire, for 30 years.
In December 2000, after a fact-finding hearing, a York Crown Court jury found Kerr guilty of indecently assaulting a patient when she consulted him at a Ripon hospital in 1986. He was subsequently placed on the sexual offenders' register. He was cleared of two rapes and four indecent assaults, and the jury was unable to agree verdicts on 12 other indecency counts which were left on the file.
Following the verdicts, 16 women took civil action against the authority claiming it had failed to properly investigate their complaints of assault. The local Strategic Health Authority, which inherited the case, welcomed the outcome, announced yesterday in Harrogate County Court.
A spokesman said: "The settlements have been agreed between the parties and we sincerely hope that this outcome will go some way to helping the women involved."
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