When Lee Jones was just nine years old, her father, Arthur Oakley, was convicted of sexually abusing her in the family’s western Sydney home as her mother worked night shifts, threatening her into silence.
Now in her 50s, Jones tried to seek justice in the form of civil compensation, to warn others in Oakley’s community, and to bring her closure.
Instead, Jones was told she would have to pay upfront fees north of $20,000 for a state-appointed guardian to represent Oakley due to his mental incapacity.
Her documents, including her Medicare number, address and contact details, were sent to her abuser without any redactions.
In a final blow, without her request or consent, the court placed a suppression order on Jones’ case, preventing her from talking publicly about her abuse.
The Herald successfully applied to the court to have the suppression order lifted, allowing Jones to tell her story.
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse found it took survivors an average of 24 years to tell someone they’d been sexually abused as a child. On the commission’s recommendation, the federal government abolished the three-year time limitation for child abuse victims to bring a compensation claim.
But victim-survivors face a series of hurdles in pursuing compensation claims. Paedophiles hide their assets in superannuation accounts and declare bankruptcy to avoid paying. In a recent NSW Supreme Court ruling, a judge found a victim needed to re-prove they were abused to seek compensation, despite the abuser’s criminal convictions for abusing the victim and another child.
Jones’ lawyer, Peter Karp, said Jones had been caught between the cracks of the judicial system.
If Oakley had significant cognitive impairment, a guardian would have already been appointed; however, because his assessed impairment was mild, it was up to Jones to foot the bill, Karp said.
“A lot of these perpetrators are later in life, and raise the mental capacity issue. He’s using a loophole, and it’s just not fair to her. [Jones] was completely snookered.”
“The justice system made me feel worse,” Jones said.
“It shouldn’t be up to the victim to cover costs. All survivors of domestic abuse should have a realistic chance of pursuing civil actions against violent offenders for the consequences of their abuse.”
Source: 12ft