QUEENSLAND (AUSTRALIA)
Central Queensland News
December 18, 2020
By Frances Vinall
The Catholic Church tried to block a victim who experienced ‘horrific’ abuse as an altar boy from accessing compensation.
The Catholic Church’s attempt to block a paedophile priest’s victim from accessing a payout has failed.
The Victorian Court of Appeal on Friday rejected an application from the church that would have prevented the victim, known by the pseudonym WCB in court to protect his identity, from seeking compensation.
In their written reasons, judges David Beach, Stephen Kaye and Robert Osborn said WCB had been subjected to abuse “of the most horrific kind”.
He was tormented from the age of 11 while he was an altar boy at Warragul, in the Diocese of Sale, from 1977-1980.
The abuse was also inflicted on his brother, the justices said.
The paedophile priest, Daniel Hourigan, admitted the repeated sexual abuse before his death in 1995, the justices said.
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