A rapist who won the lottery while in prison has been granted access to his £7.2million fortune - after a 15-year legal dispute.
Iorworth Hoare, 70, bought his winning ticket in August 2004, while on weekend leave from Leyhill open prison in Gloucestershire.
He was prevented from having unlimited access to his money under the conditions of his release on licence, and was understood to initially have a monthly allowance of £8,666 after he left jail in 2005.
Read next: Long-serving Longbenton athletics group treasurer, 76, helped himself to thousands of pounds
The rest of the £7.2m could only be accessed with the consent of the fund trustees – a Home Office official, his lawyer and his accountant.
The Mirror reports how he began legal action to win control of the money in 2008 and can now access it, plus interest. A Home Office source said: "There was nothing legally which could be done to stop him in the end."
Hoare has used his money to build a property portfolio and art collection, including a Picasso "Bull" sketch.
He now lives in a beautiful detached property in rolling countryside with his long-term partner. He was forced to leave a previous home in Ponteland, Northumberland, in 2011, after "Leave or Die" was daubed on his gate.
He declined to comment when asked by the Mirror. He said: "I have nothing to say. I’m not saying owt".
From 1973, Hoare spent 30 years in jail for one rape, three attempted rapes and two incident assaults. In 1989, he was sentenced to life for attempting to rape Shirley Woodman as she walked through Roundhay Park in Leeds in 1988.
Shirley, who was 59 when she was attacked, fought to change the law so she could claim compensation from Hoare. Twenty years later he eventually had to pay £50,000 damages and almost £800,000 in legal costs.
Former head teacher Shirley waived her right to anonymity when she received an MBE from the Queen at Buckingham Palace in 2012. She died last year aged 92, but left a legacy for other victims of sexual assault.
Her daughter Shelley Wolfson, 67, has urged Hoare to give his cash to charity, just as her late mother did with the damages he was forced to pay her.
After learning he now had full access to his £7.2 jackpot, Shelley told the Mirror: "She gave all the money away to charity and it's what he should be doing with his money. He can do good with that money, like my mum did."
Hoare had been serving life for his attack on Shirley when he won in 2004 and she was incensed when she heard.
She told the BBC in 2012: "It seemed wrong that he had been in prison at our expense – that is, the taxpayers’ expense. He should be paying back that money. The victims also got money from the state and he should be paying that back."
The determined mother-of-three, known only as "Mrs A" at the time, sued Hoare for damages but he used the law of limitations, which put a six-year limit on claims for compensation, to fight her claim. She spent four years pursuing her case through the courts, to the House of Lords.
In 2008, she won a ruling from the Law Lords that, in cases of serious assault, the courts would have the discretion to extend the six-year limit.
Shirley won her case in the High Court in 2011 and was awarded £50,000 compensation, which she gave away, anonymously, to good causes. Hoare also had to pay her legal bill of £537,885 and his own £239,583 costs.
It paved the way for others, such as Jimmy Savile’s victims and Rotherham survivors, to claim compensation.
Shelley, from Bradford, West Yorks, said: "People thought my mum was going after his millions – she wasn’t. It was about getting the law changed.
"She gave all the money away and it’s what he should be doing with his money. I certainly do think he should pay back the system like my mum wanted him to and help good causes. He can do good with that money like my mum did. She was wonderful.
"I’m so pleased she got the recognition. She made an impact and what I’m pleased about is all the cases that came after. People at least have some redress and remedy."
Shelley witnessed Shirley’s trauma when she went to the police station with her to identify Hoare. Shelley said: "She just handled it with such dignity and very few people knew what she’d been through until the MBE. I applied for that in 2008.
"I felt she could go to her grave knowing she did all she could. My mum was absolutely fantastic."
Shirley, who had four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren, was a member of many community groups in Roundhay, Leeds, where she lived on the same road for 40 years.
After retiring as head of Netherlands Avenue School in Bradford, she swam every day, was an active rambler and did the tough Three Peaks Walk shortly after her 80th birthday.
Although the MBE was for Shirley’s services to her community, the Queen had known her story.
Shelley said at the time: "The Queen had a long conversation with Mum. We thought, 'Oh my God, my mum’s taking up all her time, what are they talking about?'
"But they were talking about what had happened to her and then the fight for justice. I’m so proud of her."
The Ministry of Justice said: "Offenders released on licence are subject to strict conditions and will be recalled if they break the rules."
Read next:
