Vatican cleric Cardinal Pell convicted of child sex crimes

Melbourne, Feb 26: Australia's senior most Catholic cleric Cardinal George Pell has been found guilty of five counts of child sexual assault and is set to be jailed.

The 77-year-old cardinal, who was Vatican's treasurer and close to the Pope, was found guilty of orally raping one choirboy and molesting another in Melbourne's St Patrick’s Cathedral 22 years ago.

The trial ran for five weeks in Victoria county Court. The cardinal was Archbishop of Melbourne when he abused the two 13-year-old boys and was managing the church's response to widespread child abuse by priests through the “Melbourne Response”, which he designed, the Age reported.

He was found guilty in a retrial last December, with the verdict sending shockwaves through the Vatican and around the world.

A jury in an earlier trial was discharged, in September, when it was unable to reach a verdict. His legal team will appeal against the conviction, the paper reported. County Court chief judge Peter Kidd has revoked the suppression order that prevented media reporting the results of the trial and retrial.

PTI