How a rapist sentenced to life became a millionaire

Fate is not always fair and often luck turns its face towards the people who least deserve it. The story of the Englishman Iorworth Hoare is an excellent example of this. In 1989, a man was convicted of a series of rapes and sentenced to life in prison. And in 2004, without leaving prison, and without making the slightest effort, he became a millionaire. True, there were people who did not at all wish the rapist a prosperous old age.

The UK police have been looking for Yeoworth Hoer for more than 10 years. Beginning in the mid-70s, he committed several attacks on women with the intent to rape. In most cases, Yoworth succeeded in accomplishing his plans. Law enforcement officials did not disclose the number of victims of the rapist, nor the details of his crimes. Only one of his victims became public - Shirley Woodman.

At the time of the attack, Woodman, 59, was working as a headmistress at a school in Leeds, where Hoer lived. Moreover, the offender studied at this school and probably knew the victim. Only he attacked Woodman late at night in the park and, most likely, did not understand who his victim was. But the woman recognized the attacker and it was thanks to her that the rapist was detained.

Hoer committed the crime in 1988, many years after graduating from school. But Woodman remembered him and the police had no difficulty finding the rapist. It was then possible to prove the man's involvement in other attacks committed in Leeds and the surrounding area over the past decade.

In 1989, a trial was held and the scoundrel was sentenced to the highest penalty for Britain - life imprisonment. It seems that justice has been done - the villain got what he deserved and should be consigned to oblivion. But fate decreed otherwise and many years later the whole of Great Britain was talking about the prisoner.

In 2004, Hoer continued to serve his indefinite sentence at Leyhill Prison in Gloucestershire. For 15 years, he never caused any trouble to the jailers and received serious concessions for good behavior. The main one was the opportunity to leave the prison walls on weekends. The prisoner did shopping, went to the movies and cafes, and returned to his cell in the evening.

On one of these outings, Yeoworth bought a National Lottery ticket from a store. It turned out to be a winner, and the amount was more than respectable - 7.2 million pounds sterling. But this was not the only gift of fortune. The prisoner was soon informed that one of his requests for parole, which he regularly submitted, had been granted. Just a year later, Hoer was scheduled to be released into the wild.

It is not difficult to imagine what emotions were boiling in the soul of Heuer, who had already lost all hope of liberation. Soon he will become not only free, but also rich! Dozens of British publications wrote about the luck of a man convicted of a series of rapes. Everything would be fine, but Shirley Woodman appeared again in Yeoworth's life.

The woman learned about positive changes in the fate of her abuser from the press. She did not believe that Heuer had fully redeemed himself and resented the decision to release him. Despite her advanced age, the woman decided to fight for justice and achieve justice.

Woodman was unable to get the court to reconsider Heuer's case and keep him behind bars. She also failed to win the claim for compensation to her and other victims of the rapist. What got in the way was that the statute of limitations had expired in Yoworth’s criminal cases. But Shirley was not going to give up and went a different way. Having enlisted the support of the public, she managed to change the law on the payment of compensation to victims of particularly serious crimes.

The case became high-profile, and again Heuer became the darling of journalists. Woodman managed to freeze Yeoworth's lottery account and, upon his release in 2005, he was unable to take full advantage of his winnings. According to the court decision, he was entitled to only 8,666 pounds a month. The amount was not bad, but what did it mean compared to the millions?

Heuer sued the trustees of the lottery fund. But since the lottery was national, the state was the defendant. Of course, the consideration of the case was delayed and the plaintiff had to spend money on good lawyers. Meanwhile, the law promoted by Woodman came into force and Heuer was charged £50,000 for damages. Moreover, he was also ordered to reimburse 800 thousand for legal costs!

The money was simply withdrawn from Yoworth's account without his knowledge. Shirley Woodman transferred the entire amount owed to her to a fund to help victims of violence. The former prisoner could not do anything about this. So he focused on suing the lottery fund. He insisted that he was entitled to payment of the entire amount remaining in the account.

The trials continued until 2023 and Hoer ultimately won. The 70-year-old man was given his money, adding interest on the penalty. Newspapers again began to savor the story of the lucky rapist. But by this time Woodman could no longer intervene - the woman died in 2022 at the age of 92. The woman’s daughter approached Hoer with a request to donate money to charity, but he did not respond to the request.

Yoworth Hoer now lives in a house bought with the money he won in the countryside. He got married and started a bohemian hobby. A former serial rapist collects works of art. He also started a real estate business. But the past did not completely let the man go. Until 2011, he lived in the suburbs of Newcastle, from where he had to quickly move. One morning, Yoworth discovered a sign in white paint on his gate: “Get Out or Die.” He did not tempt fate and moved to the outback.

Stories with big winnings do not always end well. There are many cases where lucky people, along with money, got serious problems.