The Australian court on Wednesday upheld the six-year prison sentence of former Vatican number three Cardinal George Pell for raping and sexually assaulting two choir boys in the 1990s, and ordered his continued detention.
In a dark suit, the 78-year-old prelate appeared before the Supreme Court of the Australian State of Victoria in Melbourne, steadily lowering his head while Judge Anne Fergusson read the decision dismissing her appeal. The crowd outside greeted the verdict with applause that was heard in the courtroom. Judge Fergusson stated that Cardinal Pell would be eligible for parole in three years and eight months, although he could still appeal to the High Court of Australia.
A blowjob imposed on a boy of 13 years
The highest-ranking member of the Catholic Church ever convicted of raping minors, the cardinal, who claims his innocence, was convicted in December of five counts, including the imposition of a blowjob in 1996 to a boy of 13 years and masturbating while rubbing against another. "For many survivors (of sexual assault), a conviction against an almighty and prominent aggressor increases confidence in the conduct of justice and the possibility of denouncing," responded Pam Stavropoulos of the Australian Blue Foundation. Knot, a group advocating for child victims of sexual abuse.
The cardinal's lawyers had raised 13 objections to challenge the conviction, arguing in particular that it was "physically impossible" that the alleged facts were committed by the prelate while the cathedral was crowded. They expressed doubts about the whole judgment, whether it was the chronology of the facts or the material possibility for George Pell to have committed the assaults in the cumbersome priestly attire he was wearing while he he had just celebrated the service.
Above all, they consider the verdict "unreasonable" because based exclusively on the testimony of one of the victims. The other died in 2014 from an overdose, without ever claiming to have been the victim of aggression.