Cleric gets 6 years in child sex case
A prominent former archbishop and cardinal who set up one of the world’s first protocols to investigate child abuse in the clergy was sentenced to six years in prison Tuesday for molesting two choirboys in Australia.
The sentencing of George Pell is the latest dark chapter in the global scandal surrounding the Catholic Church, which has been shrouded in criticism over its handling of clergy members accused of sexual abuse.
Pell, Pope Francis’ former finance minister, is the most senior Catholic to be convicted of child sex charges. The molestation of the choirboys happened more than 20 years ago.
Victoria state County Court Chief Judge Peter Kidd ordered Pell, 77, to serve a minimum of three years and eight months before he is eligible for parole. The five convictions against Pell carried a maximum possible sentence of 10 years each.
“In my view, your conduct was permeated by staggering arrogance,” Kidd said in handing down the sentence.
Pell was convicted by a unanimous jury verdict in December of orally raping a 13year-old choirboy and indecently dealing with the boy and the boy’s 13-year-old friend months after Pell became archbishop of Melbourne. A court order suppressed media reporting the news until last month.
Pell’s attorney said his client denies the allegations and will appeal his convictions in the Victoria Court of Appeal on June 5.
In explaining his sentencing decision, the judge said Pell had led an “otherwise blameless life.” Kidd said he believed that given Pell’s age and lack of any other criminal record, the cardinal posed no risk of reoffending.
The judge noted that he sentenced Pell for the offenses of which the cardinal was convicted – not for the sins of the Catholic Church.
“As I directed the jury who convicted you in this trail, you are not to be made a scapegoat for any failings or perceived failings of the Catholic Church,” Kidd said.
The judge said Pell had abused his position of power and shown no remorse for his crimes. Kidd described the assaults as egregious, degrading and humiliating to the victims.
In a statement, one of Pell’s victims called the judge’s sentence “meticulous and considered.”
“It is hard for me to allow myself to feel the gravity of this moment, the moment when the sentence is handed down, the moment when justice is done,” the man said in a statement read outside court by one of his lawyers, Vivian Waller. “It is hard for me, for the time being, to take comfort in this outcome. I appreciate that the court has acknowledged what was inflicted upon me as a child. However, there is no rest for me. Everything is overshadowed by the forthcoming appeal.”