Robert "Dolly" Dunn - Final insult to his victims of child molestation

NOTORIOUS pedophile Robert "Dolly" Dunn is fighting a compensation bill of more than $250,000 owed to his victims - despite being on his deathbed.

Dunn is fighting to the bitter end a provisional order handed down by the Victims Compensation Tribunal.

This is despite the jailed criminal - once described by a judge as having no contrition - being gravely ill in Long Bay jail hospital. Dunn is battling what is believed to be an AIDS-related illness.

The tribunal has received claims from 14 of Dunn's victims and all have either already been paid or payment is under way.

It is understood the tribunal has now ordered that Dunn, 66, repay the Victims Compensation Fund for the total of the payments.

It is one of the largest payments ordered against a criminal because of the large number of Dunn's victims and the ongoing psychological trauma caused by child sexual molestation

Individual victims of crime can each claim up to $50,000 for every offence in their applications to the tribunal, which take into account the cost of ongoing counselling.

Multiple appeals

Dunn's legal action in the tribunal adds to a string of legal appeals he has made against his convictions.

He was ordered to serve 20 years in jail in 1997 after pleading guilty to 24 sex offences against boys aged seven to 15, including oral and anal intercourse. He used cash and drugs to groom boys into having sex.

The previous year, he fled the country during the Wood Royal Commission into police corruption, when footage emerged of him molesting boys, and had to be extradited back to Australia to face charges.

A Department of Corrective Services spokesman said yesterday that Dunn was still "gravely ill".

He is one of dozens of child molesters who have been ordered to compensate the Victims Compensation Fund to cover the costs of compensation claimed by their victims.

Obtained figures reveal that in the 2006-2007 financial year, $3.63 million was recovered from convicted criminals.

In November last year, an 86-year-old convicted criminal was ordered to pay back a massive $326,429 for the sexual assault of children.

So far he has paid back $53,650 and now there is an order compelling him to sell property he owns to recover more funds. He is also paying $450-per-month instalments.

Properties sold

Three other child molesters, all aged in their 70s, have been forced to pay back large amounts by having their properties sold off.

These include a 72-year-old man who sexually assaulted four children and was forced to pay back $91,710.

A 77-year-old man was forced to pay back $68,747, and $65,000 was recovered from a 79-year-old prisoner.

Payments awarded to victims of sexual assault by the tribunal last year included $204,000 paid to a woman who was raped and molested by her stepfather and others from the age of eight.

A total of $64.25 million was paid to victims of crime in 2006/2007 - a large proportion to sexual assault victims.