Western Bulldogs ordered to pay $6m for child sex abuse
A multi-million dollar payout to a child sexual abuse survivor awarded against AFL club the Western Bulldogs has been hailed as a landmark day.
Adam Kneale, 51, took legal action against Footscray Football Club, now the Western Bulldogs, after he suffered abuse between 1984 and 1990 at the hands of fundraising volunteer Graeme Hobbs.
Following a four-week trial in Melbourne’s Supreme Court, a jury of six on Thursday found the club was negligent.
Jurors awarded $5,943,151 in damages, the highest amount given by a jury to an abuse survivor in Australia and the first against an AFL club.
Kneale’s lawyer Michael Magazanik said the verdict would be “an earthquake for the legal system”, particularly the jury’s choice to award $3,250,000 for pain and suffering.
“This is a landmark day for all abuse survivors,” he said.
“In bringing his claim, and getting the result that he got, Adam has changed the legal landscape.”
Neale said he waited three decades for the Bulldogs to acknowledge what happened.
“I believe there’s a lot of people that need to find the courage to come forward,” he said.
“It’s something that only someone can do when they’re ready to do it, whereas I’ve been ready for a long time.”
