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	Carlton Rae Acted for a Man Abused by Roman Catholic Priest in 1976 By Jonathan Rayner Law Society Gazette March 24, 2010 http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/lawyer-in-the-news/carlton-rae-acted-a-man-abused-roman-catholic-priest-1976 Who? Carlton Rae, 49, senior associate litigator at Reading firm Clifton Ingram. Why is he in the news? Won ?32,500 damages for a man abused by a Roman Catholic priest more than 30 years ago. The 46-year-old, known only as Maga, was employed in 1976 by Father Christopher Clonan at the Church of Christ the King, Coventry, to do odd jobs. Clonan sexually abused Maga, who has learning difficulties, over several months. Maga reported the crime in 2006 when he learned that another man, also a victim of Clonan, had obtained compensation. Last year, the High Court upheld Maga’s claim of sexual abuse, but held that the Catholic Church was not liable because the abuse happened outside Clonan’s priestly duties. Last week in the Court of Appeal, master of the rolls Lord Neuberger reversed this decision, saying: ‘The abuse started in the presbytery and continued there, albeit not exclusively.’ Lord Justice Longmore added that it was Clonan’s ‘priestly status and authority’ that stopped people questioning his being alone with Maga and allowed sexual intimacy to occur. The Church was refused permission to appeal to the Supreme Court. Clonan’s whereabouts are unknown. Thoughts on the case: ‘It is notoriously difficult to prove abuse claims, particularly when the alleged offence happened decades ago. In this instance, the appeal court overturned the High Court’s finding, ruling that a priest’s special status made his actions the responsibility of the church. ‘The court also ruled that limitation did not apply because the claimant lacked capacity and so was not ­subject to time constraints. Quantum was complex, too. How do you compensate for a career that never happened because of the mental scars left by abuse?’ Why become a lawyer? ‘I’ve been described as a born litigator. After all, I was just nine years old when I threatened to take a teacher to court for unfairly punishing me.’ Career highpoint to date: ‘I was young and brash and hadn’t even heard of Cook on Costs when I disputed the costs in one of my cases. I was right, and Cook had to be amended.’
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