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	Marsden Defended at Funeral By Vera Devai Sunday Mail [Australia] June 3, 2006 http://www.sundaytimes.news.com.au/common/story_page/ 0,7034,19349055%255E1702,00.html CONTROVERSIAL Sydney lawyer John Marsden did not abuse an eight-year-old boy while he worked as a sports teacher at a Catholic school, his youngest brother has told about 600 mourners. Jim Marsden was among six people to give eulogies at Saint John's Catholic Church in Campbelltown, in Sydney's south-west, where friends and family attending the lawyer's funeral were greeted by a brass band playing Village People tunes. He said an article claiming his brother was ordered to pay compensation to a victim of sexual abuse was "simply not true". The article, in today's Weekend Australian, said a New South Wales District Court judge found Mr Marsden had sexually abused an eight-year-old schoolboy when he was a swimming and football coach at a Catholic boarding school in the late 1960s. The article said the plaintiff was awarded the maximum compensation of $40,000 but the 2001 Civil Court case was suppressed until now. "What he (the journalist) said in this morning's paper I can tell you is not true, simply not true," Jim Marsden told the congregation. Jim Marsden offered to meet with the journalist if he was present today. "I will give you my phone number and you can give me a call. Before you put another knife in my brother's back you can check the facts." About 400 people crammed into the small church today, which was filled to maximum capacity, with another 200 watching the televised service at a nearby community hall. Mr Marsden, 64, died last month while holidaying with friends in Turkey. His family had not wanted him to travel because of his bad health. The lawyer, who once defended serial killer Ivan Milat and sued Channel Seven for defamation, had battled stomach cancer for the last three years of his life. High Court Justice Michael Kirby also addressed the service, commending Mr Marsden on his gay rights work. "I pay my respects to him for his example of courage and for the witness he gave to homosexual people and minorities in Australian," Justice Kirby said. "John Marsden's example made me, and doubtless others, confront directly the false shame." Mr Marsden reportedly prepared a 37-page booklet detailing how he wanted his funeral conducted.
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