Compensation payout to abuse victim of JRR Tolkien's priest son to be tripled

(Photo: Pexels/Brett Sayles)

An unnamed abuse victim of Father John Tolkien, Catholic priest and son of JRR Tolkien, is to receive triple the original compensation from the Catholic Church.

The victim of Fr Tolkien was originally awarded £5,000 by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham but is now to receive three times that amount after Church leaders revisited previous settlements, The Telegraph reports.

The increase came after the Archdiocese faced strong criticism last year from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse over its handling of abuse cases.

The inquiry heard how the Archdiocese had been made aware of complaints against Fr Tolkien in 1968 but decided to keep them "in house". 

Richard Scorer, a lawyer at Slater and Gordon who is representing the victims, told the paper that it was "unprecedented" to raise the level of compensation after a settlement has already been reached. 

"They have held their hands up and recognized their conduct was wrong. It may well pave the way for other survivors to seek further compensation," he said. 

Father Tolkien, who died in 2003, was the son of JRR Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.

He was never convicted of abuse during his lifetime. 

Following his death in 2003, Christopher Carrie, one of Fr Tolkien's accusers, was awarded £15,000 in compensation by the Archdiocese of Birmingham.