Judge lashes Xavier College’s ‘troubling’ conduct in school abuse claim
The religious order that runs Catholic boys’ school Xavier College is facing a multimillion-dollar lawsuit after a Supreme Court judge overturned a settlement struck to compensate the victim of a “serial recidivist paedophile” who abused a student at the elite school.
The victim, a 69-year-old who cannot be named for legal reasons, successfully appealed the agreement struck in August 2011 between him and the Society of Jesus in Australia, which included a term that Xavier College in Kew cover tuition for his two sons and pay him $150,000.
Xavier College faces a multimillion-dollar lawsuit from a former student abused by a staff member.Credit: Joe Armao
In a decision released last week, the victim claims priest Noel Bradford abused him in 1968 and 1970 while he was a boarder. The former student is now claiming loss of past earnings and superannuation of between $1,248,791.62 and $4,952,307.62 in damages.
The Society of Jesus in Australia, more commonly known as the Jesuits, runs Xavier College and would be financially liable for any settlement. The college declined to comment.
The Jesuits have accepted the 1968 abuse allegation but have not admitted the alleged instance of abuse in 1970.
Supreme Court associate justice Mary-Jane Ierodiaconou overturned and criticised the settlement deed because the victim did not have a lawyer when it was struck, and no Jesuit or school staff told him to report the matter to police.
“The defendant did not ensure that the plaintiff was adequately supported or informed in his negotiations, which led to the settlement deed. He was not legally represented,” Ierodiaconou found.
“Information about other abuse complaints against Bradford was not disclosed. Medical information enabling a proper assessment was not sought … He was not encouraged to make a complaint to the police.
“If the plaintiff is successful in this proceeding, there is a strong prospect that will result in a significant award of damages that will substantially exceed the settlement sum.”
Bradford was appointed to Xavier College by the Jesuits and worked and lived at the college for 15 years. He held numerous positions including second division prefect, teacher, master, cricket coach and football coach.
The court heard he was known as “Brick” and had a “large presence” at the school.
The judge criticised Xavier College because the school struck the deal while the victim didn’t have a lawyer.Credit: Wayne Taylor
Ierodiaconou also sharply criticised the conduct of Jesuit priest Father Michael Head who worked at Xavier, provided pastoral care to the victim and counselled him about his abuse.
But, Ierodiaconou found, it was “troubling” that while Head acted as a confidant for the victim, he was also acting as an agent of the school when the deed was struck in the 2011 settlement.
“Based on Fr Head’s file notes, this afforded the plaintiff a space to openly vent his feelings and emotions. There appears to be an element of pastoral care,” Ierodiaconou said.
“The plaintiff did not have the benefit of ongoing independent legal advice at this time. The capacity in which Fr Head held his informal meetings with the plaintiff is troubling. He provided pastoral care to the plaintiff whilst serving the defendant’s interests in negotiating the settlement deed.”
‘[Father Michael Head] provided pastoral care to the plaintiff whilst serving the defendant’s interests in negotiating the settlement deed.’
Victorian Supreme Court judge Mary-Jane Ierodiaconou
Court documents say there is no evidence that the defendant undertook any investigations into Bradford’s conduct regarding the victim, with Head writing in July 2008 that the victim “knows of several other boys who (claim) they were molested by [Bradford] over some years”.
“He did not give names and I did not ask for them,” the file note written by Head says.
Bradford’s abuse had devastating consequences for his life, the victim said in an affidavit filed with the court, causing him to suffer profound depression and struggle with alcohol and drug addiction.
“I have struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts for decades. I turned to drugs and alcohol to help me hide my emotional suffering from others,” the judgment quotes him as saying.
Xavier College settlement deedCredit: The Supreme Court of Victoria
“The abuse had a huge impact on my education and what I’ve been able to achieve since leaving school. Before I was abused, I was a very good student. After Bradford abused me the first time, I ran away from school three times that year.”
He said he struggled in higher education but failed most of the coursework, failing to hold jobs for a long period of time and often relying on his family for support.
“I’ve moved around a lot as an adult. I’ve had dozens of short-term jobs, and long periods of unemployment. There have been a number of occasions when my family have helped me get work. Without their help, I would have been unemployed,” he said in the document.
The victim argued in court that Bradford was “a serial recidivist paedophile who repeatedly sexually assaulted young boys” but this information had not been provided to him during negotiation of his settlement.
Right Side Legal partner Michael Magazanik told The Age that the victim was in poor health and the Supreme Court had ordered his claim be fast-tracked as a result.
“Yet, the Jesuits still thought it appropriate to try and get his claim thrown out on the basis of a paltry payment made years ago when my client was effectively legally powerless and unrepresented,” he said.
“The Jesuits have fought so hard to deny my client his day in court that it makes you wonder how many other legally worthless deeds they are sitting on. How many other victims of abuse at Xavier have been paid off with small sums of money?
“This decision sends a message to those students: you have legal rights, you’re entitled to proper compensation. My client is grateful and pleased with the decision and is looking forward to his day in court.”
In 2022, an alleged victim of historical sexual abuse by different Xavier College staff members, Eldon Hogan and Father Patrick Stephenson, filed suit against the school, also seeking millions of dollars in compensation.
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