Letter of demand for $5.3m issued to convicted child sexual offender, disgraced Launceston arts patron John Wayne Millwood

Lawyers for the victim-survivor of disgraced Launceston arts patron John Wayne Millwood have sent him a letter of demand for a record-breaking $5.3 million. FULL STORY >>

LAWYERS for the victim-survivor of disgraced Launceston arts patron John Wayne Millwood have sent him a letter of demand for payment of a record-breaking $5.3 million damages sum.

More than 31 days have now passed since the Supreme Court of Tasmania made the order, after hearing how Millwood not only abused his victim as a child during the 1980s, but also spent years stalking, harassing, threatening and “gaslighting” him as an adult.

The sum of $5,313,500 was calculated on the basis of the man’s pain and suffering, past and future medical and therapeutic expenses and loss of past and future earnings.

With 31 days now lapsed since that order was made, Millwood – now 75 – will not be able to appeal the sum.

With that window now closed, lawyers for the survivor – who for legal reasons is known only by the acronym ZAB – demanded Millwood pay immediately or face further legal proceedings, and possible bankruptcy.

ZAB said Millwood had recently divested himself of about $10 million in assets to family members since the civil case against him began.

John Millwood.

“My legal team is confident we will recover the full $5.3m plus interest and costs. Millwood has the capacity to pay, so the only question is to what extent he will put himself and his family through further legal proceedings to enforce the debt,” he said.

Millwood aggressively defended the civil claim over three years before it came to trial, but failed to turn up at either the trial or the delivery of Chief Justice Alan Blow’s judgment last December.

ZAB has also been calling for law reform in Tasmania, after his abuser was able to call witnesses to attest to his “good character” in his 2016 criminal proceedings.

ZAB was horrified that several members of the Launceston medical profession had written letters to the court about Millwood’s so-called good character, writing to Attorney-General Elise Archer and Premier Peter Gutwein expressing his concern.

“It is extraordinarily disappointing that Launceston doctors and nurses thought it in any way appropriate to defend a predatory paedophile who had pleaded guilty to the sex abuse of a child, by attesting to his ‘good character’,” ZAB said.

“We expect doctors to be a frontline against child sex abuse.

“It is long past time for change.”

John Millwood.

Last week, Ms Archer responded in a letter to ZAB, saying Tasmanian criminal law prevented good character evidence to be used in sentencing amelioration in circumstances where that person’s alleged good character had helped enable them to abuse others.

However, she said good character evidence could be used in courts if a person’s criminal conduct had been considered “out of character”, although this would not ameliorate the length of a person’s sentence.

“It is for procedural fairness and natural justice reasons as to why the court will hear this type of evidence – but not apply to sentencing,” she said.

“I have sought advice on the approach in other Australian jurisdictions and I am confident that the Tasmanian legislation remains the strongest restriction in Australia”

But ZAB said this answer wasn’t good enough.

“Unfortunately the Attorney-General’s response has not altered her decision to do nothing,” he said.

Follow @ambervwilson