CONVICTED RAPIST SUES LANDLADY OVER FLAT CLEARING
A judge ruled Melody Goymer acted unlawfully by removing Thomas Cope's possessions from the property before he had been convicted of his latest offence.The 55-year-old former debt collector was jailed for life at Hove Crown Court last year after being convicted of raping a 19-year-old woman in 2006.
Cope, who had been living alone in the flat, had previous convictions for rape, attempted rape, and indecent assault, with his first jail for rape occurring in 1976.
Mrs Goymer, a landlady from Pevensey Bay near Eastbourne, decided to clear Cope's possessions after he was arrested and discovered a letter from his solicitor.
She was not informed of the specific nature of his offence at the time but understood it was serious.
Cope sued her in a publicly-funded case while incarcerated, and the court ruled that Mrs Goymer had unlawfully terminated his tenancy without a court order.
Cope was awarded £750 in damages, and Mrs Goymer faces legal costs of around £5,000 plus Cope's costs of up to £13,000.
Mrs Goymer expressed her fury, stating, "I'm absolutely furious.
We are astonished and feeling a sense of disbelief.
We just can't manage to find that sort of money."
