Church abuse payout tears sisters apart
A hefty abuse compensation payout from the Catholic Church has torn two sisters apart as a dispute over money arose. Two years ago, Gina Swannell successfully sued the Catholic Church for the abuse she had suffered as a child at the hands of a trusted local priest . "It was just a total sense of relief," she told A Current Affair . "I'd succeeded in getting justice." However, after speaking publicly about her settlement, lawyers for the Catholic Church wrote a letter demanding her compensation payout be returned. Gina wanted the money out of her bank account so she transferred it to her trusted sister Andrea . She said she ultimately transferred $296,000 to Andrea, who also had her power of attorney. From that money, she said, Andrea paid $69,000 for a half-acre block in a small town west of Brisbane. A three- bedroom house intended as Gina's new home was built on the block at an estimated cost of $160,000 to $180,000. However, the carport and concr...