Marist Brothers accused of waiting for paedophile Francis William Cable to die to avoid paying out victim

The Marist Brothers have been accused of avoiding paying compensation to a Sydney paedophile victim. Lawyers have lifted the lid on how institutions are ‘running out the clock’.

Marist Brother Francis William Cable is serving a jail term for his abuse of boys under his care. Picture: AAP Image

The Marist Brothers have been accused of sitting on their hands and waiting until one of the country’s most notorious paedophiles died in jail to avoid paying compensation to one of his victims.

The religious order, in which one in five brothers were identified as a paedophile by the child sex abuse royal commission, is the latest institution to seek a permanent stay of proceedings because abusers have died or for other reasons, such as “losing” files.

The Marist Brothers have told the Supreme Court they can’t defend themselves against a civil claim brought by a man, now aged 64, who was 11 when he says he was sexually abused by Francis William Cable, known as Brother Romuald, at the Marist Brothers College at Kogarah.

The religious order was told about the man’s claim in October 2020 while Cable was in jail serving 16 years a sentence for the horrific abuse of 24 boys.

Cable, 90, died behind bars in September last year and despite knowing of the man’s claim for almost two years, the Marist Brothers never tried to ask him about it.

Marist College at Kogarah was the scene of Francis William Cable’s atrocities decades ago. Picture: Supplied

The man has been given the pseudonym Mark Peters.

Peters’ lawyer Ross Koffel said that when the six-year limitation period for bringing civil abuse claims was abolished as a result of the child sex abuse royal commission, it was meant to make it easier for survivors to seek justice.

The new laws included a provision where the proceedings could be permanently stayed under “exceptional” circumstances.

Mr Koffel said it was never envisioned that the “exceptional” clause would be so widely used by institutions to block cases against them.

Ross Koffel says it is disturbing how many institutions are trying to block victims from accessing compensation. Picture: AAP Image

There are record numbers of historical abuse claims currently before the Supreme Court with 1600 cases filed since 2016. As well, a landmark case is pending the High Court involving the Catholic Diocese of Lismore which could result in dozens of cases being overturned in which institutions including schools and churches have been granted permanent stays of proceedings.

“The nature of historical sexual abuse is that the abuse occurred many years ago and therefore the abusers in many cases have died in the meantime, because victims tend to come forward some 30 years after the abuse took place.,” Mr Koffel said outside court.

Giving evidence on Friday, lawyer Martin Slattery, appearing for the Marist Brothers, said they had not tried to contact Cable since receiving a letter from his solicitor in April 2015 stating he would not meet with any member of the religious order’s “leadership team”.

“(The Marist Brothers) only had to pick up the phone (to ask Cable themselves),” council for Peters, Shaun McCarthy told the court.

“It is respectfully submitted that a defendant cannot simply elect to run out the clock in dealing with allegations concerning elderly people and then deploy the outcome of this conduct as the principal basis for seeking to permanently stay a plaintiff’s legal proceeding.”

Justice Nicholas Chen questioned why, if they believed Cable was never going to talk to them anyway, the Marist Brothers would now argue that because he was dead they could not defend themselves.

The Marist Brothers have already paid out at least $9 million in compensation to the victims of just two of its most notorious brothers – neither of them Cable – and settled others out of court.

Justice Chen has reserved his judgment.