ELEVEN victims of child abuse, most at the hands of paedophile Christian Brother Robert Best, have won more than $1 million in compensation from the Catholic order.
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The victims have collectively received more than $1.1 million in private settlements with the Christian Brothers since they began negotiating last November, their lawyer, Viv Waller, said.
The Christian Brothers told the state inquiry into child abuse earlier this month that they had spent more than $1 million defending Best. In 2011, Best was sentenced to 14 years and nine months in jail for sexual crimes against 11 boys at schools in Ballarat, Box Hill and Geelong during the 1970s. Most of the boys were also abused by other Brothers.
Dr Waller said yesterday that she was still negotiating with the Christian Brothers on the claims of 97 other clients and would pursue the matters in court if necessary, with 10 others applying for compensation under the Sentencing Act.
Cardinal George Pell told the inquiry on Monday that the church had never said it could not pay more compensation and would do so if governments required it.
Canberra-based lawyer Jason Parkinson, who has launched 400 lawsuits against the Catholic Church, called for a two-year moratorium on the statute of limitations to allow abuse victims to pursue their cases.
A spokesman for the Christian Brothers had not returned Fairfax Media’s calls last night.
