A victim of historical child sexual abuse who lived in a "perpetual state of torment" has been awarded $700,000 in damages after successfully suing his abuser.
The victim took John Paul Garay, who is aged in his 60s, to the ACT Supreme Court seeking damages for personal injury.
In a decision published in June 2026, Justice Belinda Baker awarded the victim the money, acknowledging the significant harm done to him.
"The deeply traumatising consequences of the abuse have altered the [victim's] life trajectory - it has affected every facet of his life," she said. "His very personality and identity have been shaped by the abuse."
Garay stood trial in the ACT Supreme Court in 2021 after previously pleading not guilty to 18 sexual offence charges.
Justice Chrissa Loukas-Karlsson found him guilty of two counts of sexual intercourse with a child and six counts of committing an act of indecency on a child. He was acquitted of the remaining charges, all of which related to the same boy when he was aged between 10 and 16.
The crimes occurred in the 1980s at Garay's home in Wanniassa, where the victim sometimes stayed with him during school holidays.
During the sentence hearing, the victim described how the abuse he endured as a boy had "ruined my childhood" and left him in "a perpetual state of torment".
He also detailed the psychological toll of the abuse, as well as the numerous ways it disrupted his education and work.
Garay was sentenced to five years' jail, with his appeal later dismissed in the ACT Court of Appeal, and an application for special leave refused by the High Court.
Garay denied liability in the civil case, arguing the allegations were false and a duplication of the claims made during the criminal trial.
However, Justice Baker rejected Garay's claims after finding the child rapist's evidence was "embellished and contrived" at times. She said, in contrast, the victim was a credible and reliable witness who "explained in eloquent terms the internal conflict which the abuse generated".
"Having carefully considered the evidence, I am comfortably satisfied that [Garay] committed the torts of battery and assault," she said.
"I have also found that the defendant's acts caused the [victim] psychiatric harm."
Justice Baker awarded the victim a total of $704,836 in damages, taking into account out-of-pocket expenses, domestic care and general damages.
She also ordered Garay to pay the victim's legal costs.
Support is available for those who may be distressed. Phone Lifeline 13 11 14; Canberra Rape Crisis Centre 6247 2525; Bravehearts 1800 272 831; Kids Helpline 1800 551 800.
