The Western Bulldogs AFL club has lost its bid to overturn a Supreme Court jury’s decision that it was responsible for the years-long sexual abuse of a teenage fan by a paedophile staffer at the club.
The Court of Appeal has today upheld last year’s decision – the first against an AFL club.
Michael Magazanik, partner at Rightside Legal, says the Western Bulldogs (then known as the Footscray Football Club) allowed the paedophile staffer Graeme Hobbs to roam the premises and groom and abuse young supporters.
“The Western Bulldogs will pay a hefty price for their failure, but that’s nothing compared to the cost to Adam. The Club caused him massive pain and suffering but tried to avoid paying him anything.
“Adam rightly sees this as decades of pathetic and unacceptable behaviour. The Bulldogs leadership in the 1980s and 90s had chances to stop the abuse, but a series of red flags was ignored. That led to lives being ruined. And even now the club’s current leadership can’t or won’t face the music – it fought Adam to verdict at trial and lost. And now it has lost again.”
Mr Magazanik said that while the Court had reduced the general damages (for pain and suffering) awarded by the jury, the revised figure of $850,000 for general damages remains the highest in Australian legal history.
Overall, with interest, Mr Kneale will receive about $2.9 million.
Adam Kneale, now aged 52, was regularly abused for five years from 1984, when he was 12, by Hobbs, a member of the club’s fundraising committee and a staffer with the under 19s.
Mr Kneale said today that his case was never about the money.
“A jury of regular people believed me, not the club and its lawyers, when they awarded me record damages, and nothing will take away that vindication of my story of what I suffered as a teenager, and ever since.”
Hobbs, a convicted paedophile who later pleaded guilty to abusing Mr Kneale, was part of a paedophile ring.
Mr Magazanik says the decision sends strong messages to the community – a warning to organisations who were negligent, and encouragement to those who suffered abuse as children.
Rightside Legal is aware of other survivors associated with abuse at Footscray Football Club, and other AFL clubs. Last year Rightside Legal also acted for a woman abused by former AFL legend Barry Cable.
Contact details:
Contact:
Michael Magazanik, partner, Rightside Legal 0403 367 608
Andrew Taylor 0411 156 797
