A victim of appalling sexual abuse at a Catholic girls school in Essendon has reached a $1 million settlement just a day before the case was due to proceed to trial, but says the protracted legal negotiations have exacerbated her trauma.
St Columba’s College agreed to the significant financial settlement on June 8 over the misconduct of its former arts teacher, Michelle Grant, during the 1990s. The prestigious college also agreed to pay the plaintiff’s legal costs in abandoning the Supreme Court trial.
The civil case was filed in December 2024 and alleged St Columba’s College was vicariously liable for the conduct of Grant, while also repeatedly breaching its duty of care to the former student, who was given the court-ordered pseudonym Kathie Paden.
The former student was groomed and sexually abused in the college’s arts room, Grant’s home and properties in Blairgowrie and Indented Head over several years, according to a statement of claim.
It was also alleged that three former teachers at the college were told by Grant of the abuse, but failed to report the matter to the school, the student’s parents, police or other child-protection agencies.
Another teacher is accused in court documents of discovering a love letter written in Japanese by Grant, but also failed to alert authorities.
Grant, who began teaching at the college in the early 1980s, was sacked when police notified the Department of Education in 2022.
Grant was sentenced in the County Court to six months in prison in July 2024, after pleading guilty to indecent assault and sexual penetration of a child under care, supervision or authority.
Judge Gregory Lyon said Grant had committed “repugnant” and “utterly unconscionable” acts.
“(The) sustained grooming and complex infiltration of the victim’s friends, family and her perception of herself … (left the victim suffering) real, deep and lifelong harm,” he said.
Paden, which is not the plaintiff’s real name, said the criminal trial and civil case against the college had severely disrupted her recovery.
“This whole legal process has taken a huge toll on me, physically and emotionally, despite having a very compassionate legal team. It felt unnecessarily long and difficult,” she said.
“The thing most clearly demonstrated during these prolonged negotiations is that we still have work to do to figure out how we measure the harm caused by sexual abuse and the impact of that harm.
“For me, having to explain and justify the impact repeatedly was incredibly exhausting and traumatic.”
Paden said she was still haunted by Grant’s systematic grooming of her.
“It weaponises kindness, connection and trust, the most fundamental emotional needs of a child. How do you ever know if it’s safe to hold those things again?” she asked.
The woman’s solicitor, Kathryn Footner from Footner Wren Legal, declined to comment on the settlement.
St Columba’s College principal Rita Grima said the school had a policy of not commenting on the details of sensitive matters that had been before the courts.
“As a Catholic school that honours the charism of its founding order, the Sisters of Charity, we have a mission-driven, moral and legal responsibility to provide a safe and secure environment for the young women in our care, and to protect them from all forms of abuse and neglect,” a statement said. “We are steadfast in our resolve to honour and enliven this responsibility.”
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
