The Catholic Church and government agencies in the United Kingdom have developed a new argument to avoid paying out settlements to victims of pedophilia and sex abuse: they're claiming the children consented.

By: Carey Wedler/ANTIMEDIA  The Catholic Church and government agencies in the United Kingdom have developed a new argument to avoid paying out settlements to victims of pedophilia and sex abuse: they're claiming the children consented.

As the Telegraph noted over the weekend:

"Lawyers who represent some of the victims have told the Sunday Telegraph that the defense is more frequently being used by private schools, religious groups and local authorities when trying to defend compensation claims."

Though news of these recent attempts to avoid paying settlements emerged last month, the Telegraph recently viewed documents from two court cases in which defense attorneys used the "consent" argument.

"One claimant was told by lawyers for the Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark that his abuse, which included rape and began when he was 15, 'actually occurred in the context of a consensual relationship (albeit one the Claimant in retrospect now appears to regret),'" the Telegraph reported.

"I was below the legal age of consent anyway and there's a grooming element to that kind of situation. It was totally disregarded and it made me feel really small," he said.

According to Siobhán Crawford, a lawyer with London-based Bolt Burdon Kemp, the strategy is usually used when a child turns sixteen during the abuse. Sixteen is the age of consent, though the Telegraph notes that "[f]or adults in a position of authority, it is illegal to have sex with a child under their care, even if the child is 16 or 17 at the time."

Even so, in one case, the Cambridgeshire County Council, a government entity, claimed a student whose abuse started when she was under 16 consented:

"On her own account, the Claimant voluntarily sought out contact with [the teacher] and considered that she was in a relationship with him. If that is correct, after she had obtained the age of 16, the Claimant consented to sexual acts with [the teacher] and those acts ceased to be assaults."

The victims in these two cases were eventually compensated.

Despite claims from the Church and government that consent was issued, Anne Longfield, the Children's Commissioner for England, disagrees. "No child ever gives their 'consent' to being abused, and the increased use of this line of defense, although still quite rare, is worrying," she said.