Men who attended Hamilton's Monivae College in the 1960s and '70s are being urged to come forward about alleged historical sexual abuse ahead of a Supreme Court trial.
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Melbourne-based firm Rightside Legal specialises in institutional abuse cases and is representing several men who were allegedly sexually abused as children at the college.
Rightside Legal partner Michael Magazanik said the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart ran the school at the time.
Mr Magazanik said one of the firm's clients had a Supreme Court trial coming up in May about alleged sexual abuse during his time at the college.
Rightside Legal put a public call out this month in a bid to encourage former students with information to come forward and Mr Magazanik said they had a good response.
"We are advertising for men who were at the school and might be able to help us with information. We are looking for information about alleged abuse at the school in the 1960s and 1970s to ensure that our client gets right and fair compensation," he said. "We are hoping to speak with as many former students as possible and that's whether they just have memories they can share or whether they have personal experiences at the school. We'll treat each and every call with complete confidentiality."
Mr Magazanik said the laws around alleged sexual abuse had changed.
He said there used to be massive legal barriers to abuse claims, which meant that people who were abused accepted small sums of compensation and signed deeds giving up their legal rights. "Those barriers are now gone," he said. "And those men may have the right to much greater sums of compensation."
Mr Magazanik urged anyone who was allegedly abused to seek legal advice. "There is a level playing ground now for abuse survivors and sums available in compensation are much greater than in the past," he said.
He said one of Rightside Legal's clients received $150,000 compensation at the time but recently won a verdict for almost $2 million. The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart was contacted for comment but did not respond.
- Sexual Assault Helpline counsellors are available from 7.30am to 11.30pm, seven days. Call 1800 010 120
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