Nina Cresswell: County Durham woman sued by tattoo artist attacker wins case

A sexual assault victim who was being sued by a man for publicising her claim that he attacked her has won her case.

Nina Cresswell, 33, of County Durham, posted online that tattoo artist William Hay violently attacked her in Sunderland after they met in a nightclub in 2010.

Mr Hay, from Glasgow, had launched legal action claiming her allegations were untrue. He said the “publications” caused him “great embarrassment, distress and damage to his reputation” and wanted damages.

Following a hearing in February, a High Court judge ruled on Wednesday that Ms Cresswell's account, which she published on social media that he "sexually assaulted her" was substantially true, and publicising it was in the public interest.

Mrs Justice Heather Williams reached her finding on the "balance of probabilities", the lower standard of proof in civil case.

“I am hugely relieved and delighted at the judgment and I can’t believe that I am finally free to speak the truth about the man who attacked me", Ms Cresswell said.

Ms Cresswell, then a 20-year-old student at Sunderland University, reported the attack to Northumbria Police shortly after it happened in the early hours of 28 May 2010.

She said officers had decided not to treat her allegation as a crime. She said detectives told her it would be difficult to prove as she had been drunk.

Inspired by the #MeToo movement, Ms Cresswell shared her experience online.

The court heard that she had published a blog, two Facebook posts, an Instagram post and sent a Facebook message, and an email, to Mr Hay's girlfriend and business partner.

Ms Cresswell said: "My only motivation throughout has been to protect other women from risk, and I am confident this judgment will help others to do the same.”

“The defendant says that her primary intention in publishing these materials was to alert women who could otherwise become victims of sexual assault at the hands of the claimant, in particular in the context of his work as a tattooist,” said the judge.

The judge dismissed Mr Hay's denials that the attack took place and ordered him to pay Ms Cresswell's legal costs.

It is the first time that a public interest defence under the Defamation Act of 2013 has succeeded when an abuser has sued a victim for libel, lawyers for Ms Cresswell said.

The Good Law Project helped fund the legal action for Ms Cresswell. Director Emma Dearnaley said: “This is a very important win, both for Nina and for other victims of sexual violence who face being sued for speaking out.

"The case establishes that a public interest defence can be available to women who are sued for libel. Where they are unable to overcome the burden of proving they were sexually assaulted they can still have a defence if they believe there is a public interest in speaking out.

“We are very proud to have stood shoulder to shoulder with Nina. Women should not be silenced for speaking out against violence.”

Tamsin Allen, partner at Bindmans law firm - which represented Ms Cresswell, said the judgement gave much-needed support to women who "seek to name their attackers to protect others."

Northumbria Police said it had not been involved in the proceedings and would "carefully consider" the contents of the judgement.

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