Ex-Wesley College student awarded $3m sex abuse payout

A former Wesley College student has been compensated millions of dollars, decades after being preyed on by two of his teachers.

A former Wesley College student has been given a $3 million payout after he was abused by two paedophile teachers.

A former Wesley College student sexually abused by two paedophile teachers has received a record $3 million payout from the school.

The man, who did not wish to be named, was abused “dozens of times” first by John McMillan, who taught at Wesley’s Glen Waverley campus.

Mr McMillan preyed upon the survivor during several leadership camps between 1972 and 1974.

Another teacher at the school then delivered the man straight into the hands of his second abuser at the school’s Prahran campus, school counsellor Stewart Heywood, when he noticed the boy struggling in class.

Mr McMillan pleaded guilty to child abuse offences at Wesley, as well as Preshil College in Kew, in 2016.

Mr Heywood took his own life in 2004 while he was at the centre of a police investigation for sexually abusing two boys.

The survivor, now aged in his 60s, said the college was “a sick and dangerous place for some of the students” that caused him “decades” of suffering.

The college was labelled a “sick and dangerous place”, with abuse occurring at the Prahran campus.

“Lives were totally ruined as a result,” he said. “That needs to be dragged out of the shadows.

“I have lived with this for decades, shame and guilt and regret. It has never left me.”

He said the settlement, believed to be the largest of its kind in the state, was a chance to publicly hold the college to account so other victims would have the courage to come forward with their own experiences.

“I know other children suffered like I did, and I want them to know that there is help and a measure of justice if you fight for it,” he said.

“I wanted to hold the school to account, to force the school to confront its past and to force them to deal with me fairly.

“I want the school to say publicly that Heywood and McMillan were criminals who caused devastating harm.”

Lawyer Michael Magazanik from Rightside Legal said it was “unbelievable” that Wesley facilitated his client’s abuse by allowing Mr McMillan to take the children to camps alone.

He said the record multimillion-dollar payout brought some solace to his client, who he claimed was just one of many other students who were sexually abused.

A tribute for former Wesley teacher Stuart Haywood.

The school published a tribute for Mr Haywood after his sudden death in 2004.

“The number is a big number which recognises the devastating damage that was done to him. I’m just super proud of him,” Mr Magazanik said.

“This is a case where one Wesley child abuser knowingly targeted the victim of another Wesley child abuser.

“And I know my client was not the only student abused by both men.”

Mr Magazanik slammed the college’s response to his client’s claims, saying he was forced to relive his traumatic time at the school during the trial.

“Wesley is saying they have behaved respectfully in the process, but what they did was force this bloke to trial, forced him to give evidence in court and relive the abuse,” he said.

Wesley paid tribute to Mr Heywood in its school community magazine, who also worked with Anglican Church, the Australian College of Education and the Crime Prevention Council.

“In the death of Stewart Heywood, the Wesley school community has lost an outstanding servant, but many of its members will feel that they have lost an invaluable friend.”

Mr Magazanik claimed Wesley attempted to intimidate his client who decided to speak out about the settlement by saying both parties were bound to a confidentiality agreement.

The Herald Sun has contacted Wesley College for comment.

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