Western Bulldogs AFL team goes on the attack after being hit with record payout for not doing enough to protect child sex abuse survivor from a paedophile

A “dirty” volunteer in a trench coat who took photos of scantily clad young footballers was not enough evidence to show an AFL club could have foreseen he was a paedophile, a court has been told.

The Western Bulldogs club, formally known as Footscray, has appealed a jury verdict that it was guilty of negligence, after being awarded $5.9 million in damages to a victim of child sexual abuse.

It was the largest compensation ever paid to a victim of abuse in Australia.

Adam Kneale, 51, took legal action against the Melbourne club after he was assaulted by fundraiser Graeme Hobbs between 1984 and 1990.

Hobbs, who has since died, first sexually abused Kneale when he was 11 or 12 years old, in a boardroom at the club’s home ground in 1984.

After a four-week trial in the Melbourne Supreme Court, a jury of six found the Bulldogs negligent and awarded $5,943,151 in damages, including $3,250,000 for Mr Kneale’s pain and suffering.

However, the Bulldogs continue to maintain the club is not responsible for the assault on Mr Kneale and asked the Victorian Court of Appeal on Friday to quash the jury’s finding and the payout.

Kneale (pictured) was just 11 or 12 years old when he was sexually abused at Western Oval by a volunteer

Bulldogs lawyer Bret Walker SC argued that the “red flags” raised by club officials about Hobbs were not sufficient evidence to suggest he was guilty of child sex abuse.

According to Walker, signs included Hobbs wearing a trench coat, being a “dirty character” and engaging in sexually suggestive locker room conversations with teenage players.

Hobbs also took ‘joking’ photos of young footballers in their hotel rooms, while they were half-naked during a trip.

“It is simply not enough to just look back at the facts. The man was a scoundrel and therefore it was a warning sign that he saw an innocent person in his company. That is all there is to it,” he told the court.

“If there was evidence of groping, sure, but there’s nothing at all that suggests that.”

But according to Sam Hay KC, Kneale’s lawyer, Hobbs’ behaviour – given the behaviour of 15 or 16-year-old boys – should have led to him being expelled from the club much earlier than was the case in 1992.

“This is very inappropriate behavior for an adult in a locker room environment where people are not old enough,” he said.

Volunteer Graeme Hobbs (pictured) was accused of sexually abusing Kneale at the Footscray Football Club when he was a child

Western Bulldogs Football Club CEO Ameet Bains leaves Victoria Supreme Court ahead of 2023 trial

Mr Walker argued that the jury had been misled by Kneale’s legal team during the trial and said the $5.9 million damages award was “clearly excessive”.

Mr Hay accepted the jury’s award was high, but said it may have been an indication of how the public viewed the nature of his client’s abuse.

“There may be a disconnect between the way judges assess these losses and the way the community responds,” he said.

The judges reserved their decision.

Kneale’s lawyers have filed a second claim in the Supreme Court of Victoria on behalf of another survivor of Hobbs’ abuse of the Bulldogs.

“My clients are determined to see this through to the end – it’s been a long road,” lawyer Michael Magazanik told AAP on Thursday.

A Bulldogs spokesman confirmed that charges have been laid against the club in relation to allegations dating back to the 1980s.

“The club intends to defend the case and emphasises that it treats any allegation of this nature with the utmost seriousness and care for all involved,” he said.