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Man offered $420,000 for sexual abuse perpetrated by a Brother at a Western Sydney Catholic School

Case Overview
  • Our client was abused by a Brother who was the school principal and sports coach teacher at Western Sydney Catholic School. 
  • While the records were destroyed as the abuse happened over 30 years ago, it did not stop us from persevering with our client’s claim, and ultimately obtaining $420k in compensation.
Our Approach

Our client was abused by the Brother who was the school principal and sports coach teacher at the time. The abuse occurred both inside and outside of school grounds, and only stopped when our client changed schools.
Our client was not able to report the abuse to his teachers or his parents for fear of getting into trouble. He never reported the abuse to the police nor was he able to discuss the trauma with his doctors or psychologist. He kept the trauma bottled inside him until he spoke to our lawyer, Christine Beshay.

The Defendant did not admit that the perpetrator was the subject of complaints prior to the Plaintiff’s abuse, however our research team was able to identify several prior matters against the perpetrator who had an egregious and complete contumelious disregard for the welfare of our client and other students which he abused. The school failed in protecting our client and accepted that they would likely be found to have breached their duty of care by allowing the perpetrator to have contact with our client at the school.

The perpetrator died over 10 years ago and the records were destroyed as the abuse happened over 30 years ago. Accordingly, the school argued that there were no contemporaneous records to prove that our client was in fact abused during the subject period by the perpetrator.

Nevertheless, this did not stop us from persevering with our client’s claim and arguing that the abuse took a negative, detrimental toll on our client’s life. The abuse affected our client’s ability to excel at work and maintain healthy relationships with others.

Hearing that, after the matter was resolved, our client wants to seek psychological help and start a university degree to turn his life around is the ultimate reward to a life so deserving of goodness. 

The Result

GMP Law obtained $420,000 in compensation for our client.

Compassion, Guaranteed

While the sum of money received by victims of childhood sexual abuse will never resolve the traumatic experience of the abuse or reverse past wrongs, it provides survivors with deserved recognition and some sense of closure. 

At GMP Law, we understand the courage that it takes to come forward and discuss traumatic experiences of childhood sexual abuse with others. Our compassionate team will fight to achieve maximum justice for survivors of institutional and historical sexual abuse.

If you have been the subject of abuse, we are hear to listen and provide you with a confidential, no obligation consultation with our expert solicitors.

You're in Safe Hands

Are you a survivor of abuse? Call us for confidential, free advice.

Christine Beshay

Frequently Asked Questions

More Information

Helping sexual abuse survivors gather the evidence they need to bring a successful compensation claim is part of the service Gerard Malouf & Partners provides. You shouldn’t feel that you need to have done this work yourself before coming and speaking to us.

Based on our extensive experience of handling and winning sexual abuse compensation claims evidence typically includes:

  • Proof of medical treatment costs (or counselling and / or physiotherapy)
  • Records of the victim and offender being in a given place when a sexual offence took place (e.g. enrollment in schools, residence at an aged care facility)
  • A victim’s signed statement of truth that their story is accurate

The awarding of financial compensation in civil cases breaks down into four areas:

Cost of treating the immediate physical or psychological injury
Ongoing medical costs, such as domestic care to recuperate from long-term injuries
Non-economic (pain and loss) damages for psychological or emotional distress
Loss of earnings or superannuation if the incident leaves you unable to work

In some cases, courts have awarded victims “aggravated and exemplary damages”. This usually occurs in special or extreme circumstances when the court wishes to make an example of the defendant.

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More Case Summaries

Class Actions
At GMP Law, we have extensive experience in class action lawsuits, amplifying the voices of individuals who have experienced similar harms or losses.
About Us
Gerard Malouf & Partners have provided friendly, experienced legal advice to communities across Australia for over 35 years. Our Personal Injury Lawyers have taken on ten’s of thousands of cases and we are proud to have won billions of dollars for our clients.
Lawyers
Meet the diverse and dynamic team of compensation lawyers and supporting staff that have made this all happen below. Our multi-lingual team can discuss your claims in Arabic, Assyrian, Turkish, Greek, Italian, French, Serbian, Croatian, Armenian, Mandarin, Hindi, Punjabi or Malayalam.
Resources
Meet the diverse and dynamic team of compensation lawyers and supporting staff that have made this all happen below. Our multi-lingual team can discuss your claims in Arabic, Assyrian, Turkish, Greek, Italian, French, Serbian, Croatian, Armenian, Mandarin, Hindi, Punjabi or Malayalam.

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