A victim of a perverted preacher has won a landmark legal victory to sue for compensation.

In 1977, a teenage Kevin Young received a three month prison sentence for burglary, but was brutally abused by prison worker Neville Husband at Medomsley Detention Centre.

Husband, who became church minister after quitting the prison service, was jailed after admitting he carried out a horrific gay rape campaign against teenage boys.

Mr Young, from Jarrow, South Tyneside, was one of the boys most brutally targeted by Husband and in April 2003 lodged a compensation claim against the Home Office, who ran the detention centre.

The Home Office tried to block it on the grounds that too much time had passed since the attacks took place.

But, in a landmark case, Mr Young has been given the go-ahead to take his case further and could receive more than £50,000 in compensation.

The ruling, at Leeds County Court on Friday, could pave the way for thousands of other sex abuse victims to come forward and seek compensation.

Mr Young, 45, from Jarrow, South Tyneside, said: "I'm hoping that I can show other victims of abuse that there is a way forward and despite the fact that everything seems against you, you can get to a point where you can begin to see a better world out there.

"All I have ever wanted it to retain some of my own sense of worth and get back some of my dignity. I have only ever asked for a simple apology but I have had to sit through two trials now.

"Back in 1977, I was given a three-month sentence and went in there believing that it would be of benefit to me.

"But I ended up with a life sentence at the hands of Mr Husband. I have never disputed that I deserved to go to jail at the time but to have what I had done to me was horrifying."

Father-of-one Mr Young, who works for pressure group Survivors North East, waived his right to anonymity after Husband's trial in February 2003.

He added: "Being abused is something that you learn to deal with. It's something that you learn to cope with - but you can never turn back time.

"As a victim, I have never ever at any point in time felt any malice towards Mr Husband. People like him have to live with what they have done and I have to live with it in my own way.

"I'm annoyed that he was able to maintain a position of authority but it's system that kept him there that I'm fighting now, not him."

Husband, a married 67-year-old, from Shotley Bridge, Consett, County Durham, staged a campaign of gay rape at Medomsley Detention Centre in Consett in the 1970s and 1980s.

He hand-picked boys to work with him in the kitchens before brutally attacking them.

One boy was forced to submit after having a bread knife held to his throat.

Another was raped when he was caught stealing icing and marzipan from the kitchen store room.

In February 2003, he was convicted at Newcastle Crown Court of abusing five youngsters and was jailed for eight years.

The publicity surrounding the trial led to others coming forward and in September, he was jailed for a further two years after admitting attacks on four more teenagers.

Nearly 40 years after he was molested, Mr Young has fought-off Home Office attempts to end his claim for compensation cash.

His solicitor David Greenwood, of Wakefield-based firm Jordans said: "Hopefully this will make it easier for hundreds if not thousands of others who for years tried to bury the memories of this type of abusive experience at the hands of people who are supposed to be caring for them.

"When you think that the number of people who don't come forward is well over 50% then hopefully this will encourage more to do so.

"People will now be able to confront their demons. Some people turn to drink or drugs to cope with this kind of thing but confronting the issues and talking about them can give people a better quality of life."

Mr Young was sent to Medomsley after being convicted of burglary and handling stolen goods. He was just one week into his sentence when he was attacked.

Now, he hopes his victory will help other victims get proper compensation.

He said: "I have a young child now who is nearly two.

"My biggest aim is that I don't want other fathers and mothers to have to deal with members of their family going through what I have."