Sally Butler: Queensland Government doubles down on defence in $6m lawsuit

The State Government is refusing to take responsibility for the historic sexual abuse of Sally Butler by a convicted paedophile with fresh claims that he didn’t teach her.

The State Government is refusing to take responsibility for the historic sexual abuse of a 12-year-old girl by a convicted paedophile who taught at several public schools.

Sally Louise Butler, 33, is suing the government for almost $6 million in damages after being repeatedly molested by Peter Matthew Malone at Stafford State School, in Brisbane’s north, in 2001.

Malone pleaded guilty to his crimes against Ms Butler, which took place in the classroom in front of young students, and was jailed in 2019, his second time behind bars for indecency offences against children.

Mother of three Sally Butler is suing the State Government for negligence and vicarious liability following her sexual abuse by a known paedophile teacher she alleges was moved from school to school. Picture: Zak Simmonds

On November 16 – the same day The Courier-Mail revealed the landmark case – the government amended its defence. It now claims Malone was not Ms Butler’s teacher.

Three days later the matter was committed for trial on April 11-13, 2022.

Ms Butler, a mother of two young children, said the changes were “a disgusting, really low blow”.

“The amended defence says my allegations around the abuse are factually incorrect – this is wrong, because the teacher was criminally convicted for what he did to me.

“It also minimises the impact the abuse has had on me, and they blame other things for my mental health, which I dispute. They have made serious errors about my family background and drug history.”

The government’s new defence refutes Ms Butler’s claim, filed in the Supreme Court a year ago, that it had a “non-delegable duty to take all reasonable care to avoid her suffering harm, and in particular, harm in the form of psychiatric injury as a result of sexual abuse while a student at the school”.

Sally Butler the year before she was abused by her teacher Peter Malone at Stafford State School. Picture: Supplied

Sally Butler in her final year at Stafford State School, she had prolonged child sexual abuse by her year 7 teacher Peter Malone. Picture: Supplied

It says Ms Butler’s psychiatric problems and abuse of drugs and alcohol were not a result of any behaviour by Malone.

It denies being “vicariously liable” for the acts of its employees, and “to the extent that Malone carried out sexual assaults, he did so outside the scope of his role as a teacher”.

The government says Ms Butler was not in Malone’s class, which Ms Butler says is incorrect because she was in a composite class with two teachers, Malone being one of them.

The State’s earlier defence admits Ms Butler was taught by Malone.

Malone, a married father of three, was jailed in 2019 on 15 charges, including indecent treatment of a child and maintaining an unlawful relationship with a child.

Ms Butler was one of several victims who gave evidence at that trial.

“They picked me to stand up and read my victim impact statement because mine was the worst case,” she said.

Peter Matthew Malone arriving at the District Court in Brisbane in 2019. Picture: AAP Image/Dan Peled

Malone was jailed in 2015 after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting seven Year 2 and 3 female students at Ferny Hills and Boondall state primary schools in the 1980s.

At the time of his 2014 arrest he was teaching Year 9 at Earnshaw State College in Banyo.

After The Courier-Mail report on November 16 another student of Malone’s, at Boondall state school, came forward to Littles Lawyers.

“What she said Malone did to her and the way he did it in the classroom setting is identical to how my abuse happened,” Ms Butler said.

Malone taught in the state system for almost 40 years, starting his career in indigenous communities in regional Queensland.

A spokesperson for the Department of Education said it was unable to comment on matters before the courts.