Daryl James, who served 40 years in the army, has won his battle against the ADF after horrific sexual abuse

An Adelaide man who was horrifically sexually abused while serving in Victoria, has won a landmark case against the Defence Force — 50 years after his sexual assault.

A promising young musician who was abused as a teenage army apprentice and worked alongside his tormentors for 40 years, has won his case against the Defence Force for the abuse.

Gold Coast man Daryl James first told a child abuse royal commission hearing in Sydney six years ago about his “systemic, traditional and commonplace abuse” at the army’s apprentice school at Balcombe in Victoria in the 1970s.

Mr James, whose talent as a musician won him a scholarship to the Adelaide College of Music when he was 10, was subjected to sexual and physical abuse including penetration with an object – possibly a bayonet scabbard – in his first month at Balcombe.

He said he had to work alongside his abusers during decades in the army. His discharge after 39 years and 11 months came one month before he would have received the Federation Star for 40 years’ service.

Picture: supplied

Now, fifty years after his abuse, he has been awarded $250,000 in damages by the ADF after seeking compensation.

“There are a lot of veterans out there still suffering in silence,” he said. “I don’t know how I continued serving for 40 years.”

In 1972, the young musician was looking forward to going to the army school of music at Balcombe on the Mornington Peninsula, where apprentices as young as 14 would spend two years of a three-year apprenticeship.

Picture: supplied

Mr James, who suffers from severe post traumatic stress disorder and has had surgery because of what happened at Balcombe, remembered early in his basic training a sergeant warning his class to protect themselves during “crab night”.

This was a ritual in which graduating senior apprentices victimised the new intake, called “sprogs”.

He recalled waking up at midnight on crab night to find eight seniors around his bed, who identified him as “a gay sprog muso”.

Mr James, aged just 15 at the time, was stripped and painfully assaulted and someone said: “Tonight you gonna have your first period, sprog”.

“I have so many injuries to this day from all the horrific things that happened to me in those childhood years,” Mr James said. “I also have recurring nightmares.”

Picture: supplied

Lawyer Peter O’Brien said the case sets a precedent for other ADF abuse victims.

“This claim was only for the conduct perpetrated against to Mr James – not for the subsequent mental and physical injuries that arose, nor any economic impact it had upon him. Therefore, it was not a personal injury claim,” he said.

“This is because Mr James’ has already been compensated for the impact the abuse had upon him but had not been compensated for the actions themselves.”

“This case establishes a guide to award damages which equate to the seriousness of the abuse – regardless of if the survivor was able to live a relatively normal life or not.”

The Department of Defence was contacted for comment.

Originally published as Daryl James, who served 40 years in the army, has won his battle against the ADF after horrific sexual abuse