AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald
October 15, 2014
Rachel Browne
Social Affairs Reporter
The father of a sexual abuse victim has accused his church of abandoning his family and attempting to “minimise losses” if his son sought compensation, a royal commission has heard.
Giving evidence to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, the man, given the pseudonym ALD, said Australian Christian Churches tried to protect its assets rather than the victim.
“The church instead worked to minimise potential losses in case the victim should seek compensation,” he said. “Insurance was checked, consideration given to possibly shifting assets to other entities.”
The royal commission heard ALD’s son, given the pseudonym ALA, was sexually abused for two years from the age of 13 by a youth pastor at a Queensland church.
The abuse, which started in 2004, occurred on and off church premises.
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