October 9, 2020
Church’s legal defence ‘dismantled’ after sex abuse pay-off thrown out
Hundreds of sexual abuse victims who received meagre sums of money in exchange for their silence could now seek larger compensation payouts after a judge overturned once survivor's settlement with the church.
The man, a former altar boy known as WCB, was paid $32,500 in 1996 by the church after he was repeatedly sexually abused by Warragul priest Daniel Hourigan. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court overturned the deed of release in a landmark ruling, removing the legal barriers for WCB to sue the Catholic Church for damages.
Read the full article on The Age.