George Pell Accuser’s Father
Title: Catholic church loses high court bid to prevent father of George Pell accuser suing for damages
Author: Emily Woods
Publisher: Guardian Australia/AAP
Date: 08FEB2024
Australia’s highest court has rejected the Catholic church’s bid to avoid paying damages to the father of a choirboy allegedly sexually abused by Cardinal George Pell.
The father, who cannot be named, claims he suffered nervous shock after learning of allegations that the cardinal sexually abused his now-deceased son in the mid-1990s.
Cardinal Pell maintained his innocence over the allegations until his death in January 2023, and had five convictions for abusing the man’s son and another boy overturned by the high court in 2020.
The man, known as RWQ for legal reasons, is seeking damages against the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne and Cardinal Pell’s estate in Victoria’s supreme court.
The church had tried to excuse itself from the case by using a legal loophole, the Ellis defence, and arguing the man could not sue as he was not the direct victim of the alleged sexual abuse.
But in August 2022, the supreme court found he could sue the church as a secondary victim of child abuse.