Emily Woods, AAP
An Australian rules football club will pay out almost $6 million to a child sex abuse victim after it was found negligent in giving a pedophile special access to the boy.
A Supreme Court civil jury on Thursday November 9 delivered its verdict against the Western Bulldogs over the abuse of Adam Kneale, 51, at the hands of a club fundraiser, following a four-week trial.
When asked whether the football club’s negligence caused Mr Kneale’s injuries, the foreperson said “yes”.
The jury of six determined Mr Kneale should be paid out $5,943,151 for pain and suffering, loss of earnings and medical-related expenses.
Mr Kneale hugged his supporters in court after hearing the verdict.
His lawyers say the compensation is the largest awarded by a jury to an abuse survivor in Australia and the first against an AFL club.
He was the victim of a years-long campaign of sexual abuse at the hands of Graeme Hobbs, known as “Chops”, who trained under-19s at Footscray Football Club and was a prolific volunteer fundraiser for the club.
He was just 12 years old when the “jack of all trades” Hobbs first raped him at an administration building at the club’s home ground in 1984.
Mr Kneale brought the action to court as he said the football club was vicariously liable for his abuse because it gave Hobbs special access.
He sought aggravated damages after the club didn’t reach out to him when his abuse became public – a failure he says left him with no closure after everything that happened on its grounds.
The Western Bulldogs had denied it knew about the offending.
Mr Kneale told the court last month he was first introduced to Hobbs at the age of 11 or 12 through a schoolmate, who suggested the man was a source of “easy money”.
He would meet Hobbs at the top of a stairwell at the Bulldogs’ home ground at the start of games and Hobbs would hand over cash and direct him to come back after halftime.
As Mr Kneale got older and Hobbs continued to abuse him, the now-deceased pedophile opened up to him more about what he and others did.
He told a 16-year-old Mr Kneale of gatherings at farmhouses, and “swap meets” where pedophiles would bring their “best boys” to be abused by different people.
When his daughter was born, Mr Kneale said he realised he had to turn Hobbs in to police, knowing he was abusing other children including those “not long out of nappies”.
Mr Kneale said he spent years unable to work after Hobbs received an inadequate jail term and left relationships so as not to burden his partners, deeming himself “damaged beyond repair”.
Former club president Peter Gordon told the court he was first made aware of Hobbs’ crimes when a journalist contacted the club in April last year.
Hobbs pleaded guilty to sexually abusing Mr Kneale in May 25, 1994, with the local paper splashing the story on the front page.
Mr Gordon was club president at the time the story was published but denied ever seeing or being told about the article.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
