A former Rose Bay High School science teacher has been ordered to pay $2 million in damages to a child abuse survivor, Tasmania’s Supreme Court has ruled.
Marcus Pollard will pay Katrina Munting $1,976,135, with an additional $25,000 from Pollard and $15,000 from the State of Tasmania, bringing the total payout to $2,016,135.
Pollard was jailed for 18 months in 2020 for historic child sexual abuse that occurred when Munting was 15.
Munting filed a civil suit against her abuser and the State of Tasmania for the impact on her career and earning potential.
The court heard how the “brilliant young female scientist” was forced to decline a Ph.D. offer at the University of Tasmania due to her abuser’s employment at the institution.
Munting hopes to use the money for mental health services, calling for justice and empowerment for victim-survivors.
“I want perpetrators to know that this is part of us gaining justice and gaining our power back,” Munting said outside the Supreme Court on Monday, as reported by the ABC.
“No amount of money will ever take away the damage that was done all those years ago by my abuser and by the enablers, the people that stood by and allowed it to happen.”
“I hope the state will take this case and reflect on it very carefully, in the approach that they took and what they have put me through to get to this point.”
