A convicted child rapist's unusual defense involving a model train set to avoid paying $700,000 in damages has been dismissed by a judge.
John Paul Garay, who was jailed in 2022 for the sexual abuse of a boy in the 1980s, argued that key aspects of his victim's account could not be true because a train set mentioned in the evidence did not exist at the time of the abuse. Garay contended that this would invalidate the victim's claims and significantly reduce his compensation bill. However, the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) was unconvinced by his argument.
The court ruled that Garay's defense had virtually no prospect of overturning the damages award, effectively denying his bid to escape the substantial payment to his victim. The case highlights the judicial rejection of creative legal tactics in cases of severe abuse.