Justice for me and perhaps justice for all those hurt along the wa

“To do and to teach” That’s the motto of the once-great order of the Christian Brothers.

A school I first attended in 1977, a year of two seismic events that took place in my life as a 10-year-old boy in grade five.

The first was the death of Elvis Presley and the second was the sexual abuse and trauma I received whilst attending a Christian Brothers school in Sydney during that same year.
Whilst conspiracy theories denial and wishful thinking still exist to this very day on what happened to the king of rock and roll there can be no doubt of what happened to me.

Unable to cope and completely overwhelmed with the effects of the catastrophic abuse I was subjected to by a Christian brother whom I trusted, I almost immediately and permanently turned my back on people close to me that loved me and had been involved in my life until that stage, my parents, grandparents, elderly neighbours who had all played such pivotal roles in my life, the pain and unnecessary anguish I must have caused to those people now all deceased.

Swimming in a sea of addiction for the rest of my life, I struggled in life with terribly low self-esteem, self-medicating via alcohol and cigarettes and left a litany of broken interpersonal relationships.

I approached Kofells Solicitors & Barristers after being offered a substantial figure by the national redress scheme, and thus began a further two-year fight to correct the injustices of the past.

Running a case of this nature I learnt for the first time of my injuries that I picked up in 1977 of severe PTSD, double depression, and anxiety which only confirms that bad things happen in threes, all of which I added to my existing chronic health issues primarily caused by a life of self-destruction.

I was firstly represented at Kofells by Mr Greg Choat and then by Special Counsel Ms Marea Hickie, the professionalism and non-judgemental leadership of these dedicated professionals especially Marea who had to put up with me and took over for the majority of the case was highly commendable.

Despite facing strong headwinds and stormy seas throughout my case, my legal team cut through the disingenuous unnecessary litigation road blocks and tactics employed to achieve justice for me and perhaps justice for all those hurt along the way.

Michael – Attended a Christian Brothers school 1977-1984