A man who claims to have been molested by George Pell in a swimming pool in the 1970s has filed a civil lawsuit against the Cardinal.
The man was a resident in St Joseph’s boys’ home in Ballarat in Australia from 1974 to 1978 and says he was abused by Pell and a nun during that time.
The statement of claim, lodged on Monday in Victoria’s Supreme Court, also names Victoria's state government, trustees of the Sisters of Nazareth (formerly responsible for the management of St Joseph’s), and the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne over alleged breaches of duty of care.
The man was one of four complainants due to give evidence against Pell in the second, “swimmers trial”, which was dropped by the prosecution on 26 February. Pell had denied the allegations made against him.
Lee Flanagan, from law firm Arnold Thomas & Becker, who is leading the case said his client was devastated when the trial was dropped.
The statement of claim says: ““On the day in the pool, [Pell] put a finger between the plaintiff’s buttocks through his bathers on three or four occasions.”
Mr Flanagan said three other witnesses who allege similar incidents of abuse by Pell would be called in the case.
The statement of claim also outlines severe physical and emotional abuse the man, now aged 50, claims he experienced at the hands of a nun while he was at St Joseph’s boys’ home.
The man alleges the nun hit him on the head while he was sleeping, on one occasion rubbed his own excrement in his mouth, and forced him to continue riding a bike with a broken leg.
“On one occasion the plaintiff was bashed by [the nun] in the bathroom. He was beaten to his face and head … the Plaintiff was unable to eat as a result of that abuse,” the statement of claim says.
Pell’s legal team is yet to respond to the lawsuit. The Sisters of Nazareth, the Associated Press reports, have been contacted for comment.
Cardinal Pell, former Vatican treasurer and Australia’s most senior Catholic prelate, will be sentenced on 13 March after he was found guilty in December of five charges related to the abuse of two 13-year-old boys while he was Archbishop of Melbourne in the 1990s.
He was remanded in custody after his bail plea was revoked on 27 February.
The 77-year-old Cardinal’s guilty verdict was revealed on Tuesday 26 February after a court suppression order was lifted.
Loading ...
