Walter (a pseudonym) v Alcorn

District Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation:

Walter (a pseudonym) v Alcorn [2024] NSWDC 216

Hearing dates:

11 and 12 June 2024

Date of orders:

13 June 2024

Decision date:

13 June 2024

Jurisdiction:

Civil

Before:

Acting Judge Levy SC

Decision:

1. Verdict and judgment for plaintiff in the sum of $1,021,300, including prejudgment interest;

2. The defendant is to pay the plaintiff’s costs of the proceedings on the ordinary basis unless otherwise ordered;

3. The exhibits may be returned after 3 months from today’s date unless otherwise ordered;

4. Liberty to apply on 7 days’ notice if further or other orders are required.

Catchwords:

DAMAGES – assessment of compensatory general damages and aggravated damages – claim of historical child sexual abuse – plaintiff sexually abused by defendant on multiple occasions between the ages of 5 and 6 years

Legislation Cited:

Courts Suppression and Non-publication Orders Act 2010 (NSW), s 6; s 7; s 8; s 9; s 10; s 12.

Cases Cited:

Cullen v Trappell [1980] HCA 10; (1980) 146 CLR 1

Najdovski v Crnojlovic [2008] NSWCA 175

Penrith City Council v Parks [2004] NSWCA 201

State of NSW v Moss (2000) 54 NSWLR 536; [2000] NSWCA 133

Texts Cited:

Australian Bureau of Statistics Bulletin, November 2023

Category:

Principal judgment

Parties:

Walter, a pseudonym (Plaintiff)
John William Alcorn (Defendant)

Representation:

Counsel:
Mr C Simpson (Plaintiff)
Defendant not represented

Solicitors:
Sommerville Laundry Lomax Solicitors (Plaintiff)
Defendant not represented

File Number(s):

2023/00197314

Publication restriction:

A non-publication order applies to the name of the plaintiff and non-professional witnesses.

Judgment

Non-publication order

1. These reasons relate to the plaintiff’s claim for damages for historical child sexual abuse. At the commencement of the hearing a non-publication order was made to prohibit publication of the name of the plaintiff and the names of non-professional witnesses or persons identified in the evidence. Accordingly, the plaintiff has been assigned the pseudonym of “Walter”: Courts Suppression and Non-publication Orders Act 2010 (NSW); s 6, s 7, s 8, s 9, s 12. There is no order restricting publication of the name of the defendant.

Nature of case

2. The plaintiff is now aged 38 years. He brought these proceedings claiming compensatory common law damages, aggravated damages and exemplary damages in respect of a series of sexual assaults that the defendant, John William Alcorn, as an adult, committed upon him on multiple occasions between 1991 and 1992, when the plaintiff was aged between five and six years.

3. The defendant, who has been described as a serial paedophile, is presently serving an 8-year term of imprisonment for the sexual offending that he perpetrated on the plaintiff, and on other vulnerable persons.

4. On 19 December 2023, when the defendant was represented by a solicitor, he consented to judgment being entered against him in this case, with damages to be assessed. It appears that the defendant has some property, as may be inferred from the fact that he has issued a person with an operative power of attorney…