AFL’s Western Bulldogs ordered to pay record fine to child sexual abuse victim

AFL club the Western Bulldogs have been ordered to pay $5.9 million in compensation by a Supreme Court jury to child sexual abuse victim Adam Kneale.

After a three-week trial, he jury found in favour of Adam Kneale, was a Bulldogs waterboy when he was abused by club volunteer Graeme Hobbs between 1984 and 1990.

The jury agreed that the club was liable for lifelong damage sustained by Kneale, ruling that it was negligent and failed to stop a paedophile who preyed on young boys.

Outside the Court, Kneale told reporters he had waited 30 years for his pain to be recognised, and said he hoped the outcome gave other abuse survivors confidence.

The jury announced it would award $3.25 million for Kneale's pain and suffering, $2.6 million for loss of earnings, and a further $87,000 for medical costs.

Representing Kneale, lawyer Michael Magazanik said the result should serve as a "lesson" for the club, stating “this is the biggest verdict for an abuse survivor in Australian legal history and it's a credit to Adam's guts and perseverance.

"The Western Bulldogs failed Adam as a child - there's no two ways about it - they failed him tragically.

"They let a paedophile ruin his life and this result is what the club deserves for that failure."

Hobbs, who died in 2009, was described as a "sick and disturbed sexual predator" who groomed Kneale and sexually abused him at the club's Whitten Oval headquarters in Footscray and other locations between 1984 and 1990.

Hobbs, whose nickname was Chops, was known for being a "jack of all trades" in his volunteer role at the club, and witnesses at the trial said he was regularly seen around junior change rooms.

Another witness, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said he too was sexually abused by Hobbs.

Meanwhile, former Bulldogs player Stephen Macpherson said Hobbs was "a pretty sleazy character", while cheer squad member Gary Munn said people "didn't feel safe around him".

Representing Kneale, lawyer Michael Magazanik said the result should serve as a "lesson" for the club, stating “this is the biggest verdict for an abuse survivor in Australian legal history and it's a credit to Adam's guts and perseverance.

"The Western Bulldogs failed Adam as a child - there's no two ways about it - they failed him tragically.

"They let a paedophile ruin his life and this result is what the club deserves for that failure."

After the verdict was handed down, Kneale said he was "satisfied" with the outcome, telling the ABC “it's been 30 years of waiting for the Bulldogs to recognise what I experienced at their club.

"I believe wholeheartedly that they knew what happened but failed to acknowledge to me the pain that I've endured for the last 30 years.

"With this, I hope it brings confidence to other survivors to come forward and find their own peace of mind and tell their story and to overcome the demons they carry with them every day."

Kneale's barrister Tim Hammond said there had been "a catastrophic failure of this football club to actually just see what was right in front of its face for more than a decade".

However, club leaders, including former Chief Executive Dennis Galimberti, denied knowing that Hobbs posed a risk to children.

Galimberti and longtime ex-President Peter Gordon also told the trial they did not see a front page local newspaper story from 1994, which named Hobbs and outlined he was facing court for molesting a young boy at the back of the Whitten Oval grandstand.

Bulldogs will need to borrow to pay damages
During the trial, current Bulldogs Chief Executive Ameet Bains said the result would cause financial strife for the club, with it needing to borrow funds to pay damages, its current chief executive Ameet Bains told the trial.

In a statement released after the trial, the Bulldogs said the club would appeal the verdict "as expeditiously as possible".

The statement advised “the abuse against Mr Kneale was the subject of a criminal investigation by Victoria Police and relevant authorities in the early 1990s, resulting in several charges being laid, a criminal conviction being sustained, and a subsequent jail sentence being served by the offender.

"The club reiterates its sorrow at the suffering endured by Mr Kneale at the time and acknowledges the pain which he continues to carry as a result of the trauma he has experienced."

Images: The Western Bulldogs' home at Melbourne's Whitten Oval (top, credit: Western Bulldogs/AFL Photos) and Adam Kneale was a Bulldogs waterboy when he was abused by club volunteer Graeme Hobbs between 1984 and 1990 (below, supplied).