Cardinal Pell Cardinal George Pell, 77, was sentenced to six years in prison today, just over two weeks after a Melbourne court allowed the publication of news that he had been found guilty of sexually abusing two boys.
Cdl. Pell, who continues to maintain his innocence, will try to appeal the verdict. The court has set June 5-6 as the dates to consider the basis for the appeal.
In December, a jury had found him guilty on five charges, each of which carried a maximum jail term of 10 years.
The jury unanimously found that Cdl. Pell, shortly after being named archbishop of Melbourne in 1996, sexually assaulted two choirboys in the sacristy of Melbourne’s St Patrick’s Cathedral. The guilty verdict regarded one count of “sexual penetration”, in this case oral sex, and four counts of indecent acts with or in the presence of a minor under 16 years of age.
Judge Peter Kidd spent more than one hour explaining the reasoning behind his sentencing and the factors he considered. He repeatedly referred to the cardinal’s position of authority over the choirboys and the breach of trust his actions caused.
“You were a pillar of St Patrick’s Cathedral by virtue of your position,” Kidd told the cardinal.
“The brazenness of your conduct is indicative of your power over the victims,” he said.
The judge also said he had to consider the cardinal’s age and health problems, including noting that the stress of imprisonment would exacerbate his hypertension and heart condition.
He said he realised that “each year you spend in custody” would represent a large portion of the remainder of his life.
“You may not live to be released from prison,” he said.
The judge said he did not consider Cardinal Pell a risk to offend again and noted that it had been more than 20 years since the incidents in the trial. He also referred to character references he had received.
However, he ordered the cardinal to register as a sex offender and told him he would remain on that registry the rest of his life.
The cardinal will be eligible for parole after three years and eight months.
Catholic News Service