(AUSTRALIA)
Australian Broadcasting Corporation - ABC [Sydney, Australia]
October 3, 2024
By Giselle Wakatama
In short:
In a landmark NSW court case a judge has found the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle directly and vicariously liable for the childhood sexual abuse of a man known as AA.
The court heard AA was given beer and cigarettes and was sexually assaulted after blacking out in a presbytery.
What’s next?
A directions hearing has been scheduled for next week.
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A dying man has been awarded more than $500,000 in damages in a landmark case involving the Catholic Church.
The Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle was found to be directly and vicariously liable for the man’s abuse at the hands of a priest who taught scripture 55 years ago.
The man, who for legal reasons can only be referred to as AA, alleged he was abused by Father Ron Pickin at Wallsend High School in the Hunter Valley.
Father Pickin died in 2015.
In a judgement published this week, Acting Supreme Court Justice Monika Schmidt said AA left school in year 10 and “had a difficult life afterwards”.
The court heard he was “unable to tell anyone about the abuse, not trusting anyone despite thoughts of the abuse and resulting anxiety having troubled him his whole life”.
AA sought damages and was represented by the Sydney law firm Koffels.
“AA is a landmark case in New South Wales, as the first judgement where the courts have found a diocese both negligent and vicariously liable for sexual abuse committed by a Catholic priest,” managing counsel Aaron Koffel said.
The court was told Father Pickin attended the high school to provide religious scripture classes.
AA’s legal team argued it was a case of vicarious liability and that the diocese should be held legally responsible for Father Pickin’s alleged acts because he was employed by it.
‘Access to children’
The diocese denied vicarious liability for the alleged abuse, which it said did not take place, and argued about what constituted employment.
It argued Father Pickin was not an employee and that “it had not placed him in a position akin to employment, or in any position of power, control or authority over AA”.
At the time of the alleged abuse Father Pickin was the parish priest at St Patrick’s Catholic Church in Wallsend.
Acting Justice Schmidt said vicarious liability had been established and that she was “satisfied that it must be concluded that AA was sexually assaulted by Father Pickin”.
“Not only did the role he was appointed to give Father Pickin access to children in the parish, [it was] arguably even greater access than he might have had if he had been a mere employee — it required him to actively engage with them,” she said.
“That role also led to him being appointed to teach the Catholic religion at the local state high school … giving him similar access to children that an employee would have had.”
She noted that access involved him inviting boys such as AA to the presbytery on Friday nights, giving them cigarettes and “plying them with beer — in AA’s case enough to intoxicate him to the point that he passed out”.
She said that had rendered AA “incapable of resisting the sexual assaults Father Pickin was then able to pursue”.
‘Substantial damages’
Acting Justice Schmidt’s ruling that AA deserved damages for Father Pickin’s conduct was applauded by AA’s legal team.
“A key outcome of the Diocese of Maitland and Newcastle being vicariously liable in this matter is that damages are not capped by the Civil Liability Act, but are instead determined under common law,” Mr Koffels said.
“This significantly increases the total damages in historical cases like AA’s as they must pay interest on general damages [for pain and suffering] at a rate of two per cent per annum.
Damages with respect to past economic loss will be the subject of further submissions and court determinations.
The judgement is the second of its type in Australia and similar to Victoria’s Bird v DP case.
That case is subject to an appeal, but Acting Justice Schmidt said “the parties did not agree that judgement in this case should be stayed until that decision is given”.
“I have concluded that justice requires that there should be no delay given AA’s undisputed ill health,” she said.
“The hearing was expedited because AA is dying of motor neurone disease.”
A further directions hearing is scheduled for next week.