Cardinal George Pell spends first night behind bars after being found guilty of sex offences against two boys
George Pell has completed his conversion from cleric to convict, as he spends his first night behind bars. The former third highest-ranking official of the Catholic Church now has two weeks to get used to his new life before facing sentencing on five child sex charges.
George Pell has completed his conversion from cleric to convict, and will wake today after his first night behind bars.
In just four words yesterday, County Court Chief Judge Peter Kidd confirmed Pell’s new status: “I revoke his bail”.
Pell now has two weeks to get used to his new life before returning to court to learn how long he will spend in prison.
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Each of the five child sex charges of which he has been convicted has a maximum 10-year jail term.
Pell was remanded after his high-profile legal team abandoned an application to seek bail in the Court of Appeal.
They have already applied for leave to appeal against the convictions, and said Pell maintained his innocence.
Pell’s convictions now put him on the sex offenders register as a serious sex offender and he must provide a DNA sample.
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At the conclusion of yesterday’s pre-sentence hearing, the former third highest-ranking official of the Catholic Church was taken in a prison van to the Melbourne Assessment Prison in Spencer St.
There he handed over his belongings, was stripsearched and subjected to an invasive physical examination, and changed into a prison jumpsuit.
Pell’s high profile and the nature of his crimes make him an “at risk prisoner” who will be in isolation 23 hours a day.
“Even there he will need to be protected from others,” his lawyer, Robert Richter, QC, said. “He has been portrayed in the media and everywhere else as the incarnation of evil in the Catholic Church.”
Asked as he left court how Pell would cope, he said: “Well, I hope.”
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Last December, a jury found Pell guilty of sex acts committed against two choirboys in 1996, while he was the Archbishop of Melbourne.
The court heard it happened after he found them in the sacristy of St Patrick’s Cathedral, drinking altar wine. Pictures inside the cathedral shown to the jury were last night released to the media.
Mr Richter, urging leniency on Pell’s behalf, argued the offending was at the lower end of the scale. He said Pell had not been on bail or parole; there were no aggravating features, as the boys were not physically injured; there were no threats; there was no planning; and it lasted only for five minutes.
“This is no more than a plain vanilla sexual penetration case,” he said.
But Justice Kidd said: “I see this as callous, brazen offending, blatant. He exploited two vulnerable boys. There was an element of brutality to this. It was an attack.”
Prosecutor Mark Gibson, SC, said the offence might have lasted only a short time, but its effect on the victims had been traumatic.
“As we know, five or six minutes of abuse can last a lifetime,” he said.
Justice Kidd said “there was an element of force here … this is not anywhere near the lower end of offending,” he said.
“I’m not near (considering this) low-end offending.”
Mr Richter argued there had been no breach of trust because the children had not been in Pell’s care but rather in that of the church.
“He was not abusing his position of Archbishop of Melbourne … he’s abusing his position as an elder male,” he said.
“He’s a grown adult, a large man, powerful man and that’s the imbalance of power.”
But Justice Kidd disagreed.
“The person who stood at the top of that was your client,” he said. “He did have in his mind some sense of impunity. How else did he think he was going to get away with it?
“People make choices, they’re reasoned choices, and that’s what he made, and he continued to make it over five minutes.”
Mr Richter said the court must divorce itself from any emotion in the case.
“This is a court of law, not a court of morals,” he said.
Pell sat unmoved as Mr Gibson told the packed courtroom he had shown no remorse for his crimes.
“Those acts were humiliating and degrading towards each boy, and gave rise to the stress in each boy,” he said. “There has been a breach of trust in this case.”
Mr Gibson said Pell was the “driving force” and in charge of the cathedral.
“He was in a position of power, of authority, which has been breached. There was an unlikelihood of him being questioned, given his position of power and authority,” he said.
After he was found guilty last December, Pell was bailed so he could have knee surgery. Yesterday, as that bail was revoked, and prison guards took him into custody, an eerie silence swept the court.
The court heard he had originally been charged with offences relating to nine complainants, but only those relating to the two choirboys made it to trial; the others were dropped or were struck out.
Pell will return to court on March 13 for sentencing.
PELL TAUNTED GOING INTO COURT
Pell was taunted as he made his way into court yesterday morning.
He was forced to endure listening to jeers like “maggot”, “you are a paedophile”, “go to hell” and “you are filth, the devil, a monster” as he made a snail-paced walk into the court.
It took Pell more than 90 seconds to walk about 10m to reach the doors, and away from victims, hecklers and media.
He did not comment as he made his way through the crowd of cameras, flashing lights and microphones.
Most of the protesters outside the court had devastating personal stories that compelled them to attend.
Lalor’s Beverly Stirling, 78, came to share her and her husband Alfred’s story.
She alleged her husband was assaulted while in a boys’ home as a child.
“Things happened to my husband,” she said. “He was put into a boys home and badly abused.”
She was pleased to know Pell was potentially going to be jailed yesterday. “I think he should be in there forever,” Mrs Stirling said.
A powerful portrait of Pell was held by a survivor of child sexual abuse outside the court.
Above the black and white painting of the convicted man read “PELL-O-PHILE”.
Artist Robert House, 51, said it was “fantastic” to see the high-ranking man held to account and publicly condemned for his actions.
“It’s great to know the Australian public is on our side,” he said. “It’s being talked about in every cafe.”
The abuse survivor, who made the artwork with James Money, said the public perception about child sexual abuse had changed.
“We didn’t used to be believed,” Mr House said. “This is a joyful day for the children of Australia.”
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Cockatoo man John Lawrence has travelled the country trying to share his story and the stories of people abused by members of the church.
“I’m fighting for the justice of survivors,” the 64-year-old said.
“The day of judgement has come for the Catholic Church. You can never heal what predators have done to you.”
The reception Pell faced outside court came as protesters covered the gates at St Patrick’s Cathedral with police tape early yesterday morning.
He was granted at least one final night of freedom on Tuesday, after a suppression order banning any reporting of his case was lifted.
The order was in place to protect an expected second trial over allegations Pell indecently assaulted boys at a Ballarat swimming pool in the 1970s.
But prosecutors on Tuesday dropped that trial after a ruling by County Court chief judge Peter Kidd excluded certain evidence considered crucial to the case.
It’s understood the two complainants in that matter have been left devastated by the decision not to proceed.
Following the verdict on Tuesday, Pell made his way through the angry crowd to his waiting car, with a man shouting “burn in hell, Pell”.
Others shouted “you’re a disgrace, Pell”, “you’re a monster” and “you should be locked up forever”.
Outside court, Pell’s lawyer, Paul Galbally, addressed the crowd, saying his client had lodged an appeal against the conviction.
“The Cardinal doesn’t have any further that he wishes to say,” he said.
“However I would like to add: although the Cardinal originally faced allegations from a number of complainants, all of those complaints and allegations — save for the matters that are subject to appeal — have all been either withdrawn or discontinued.”
The Vatican released a statement on Tuesday night describing Pell’s convictions as “painful”, saying the Cardinal would continue to be banned from having contact with minors until the conclusion of his appeal.
Premier Daniel Andrews said his thoughts were with the victims.
“Their pain is a tragedy, their bravery an inspiration. They’ve been betrayed and so have good people of faith across Victoria,” he said.
“I will make further comments once all the appeal processes have been exhausted.”
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Earlier, Melbourne Archbishop Peter Comensoli said he was “surprised and shaken”.
“My thoughts and prayers are with all victims who have been abused by clergy, religious and lay people in the Archidocese of Melbourne at this challenging time,” he added in a statement.
“I renew my personal commitment to do all I can to ensure victims of such abuse in Melbourne receive justice and healing”.
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Pell’s name is already being struck from honour boards across the state.
Hours after the full details of his child sex convictions were revealed his former college, St Patrick’s in Ballarat, issued a statement saying they would wipe his name from the school.
It will see his name removed a building in his honour and a college honour board.
His status as a Legend of the school will also be revoked.
Cardinal George Pell attended the college between 1949 to 1959.
The honours were bestowed upon him in recognition of his years of service to the Catholic Church.
Headmaster John Crowley said that he acknowledged Cardinal Pell may appeal the verdict, but as it currently stands, the college must respond to the jury’s findings.
He said the college reserved he right to revisit this decision.
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Pell’s lawyer have already lodged an appeal.
“The jury’s verdict demonstrates that Cardinal Pell’s behaviours have not met the standards we expect of those we honour as role models for the young men we educate,” Mr Crowley said.
“The college aims at every opportunity to fulfil our mission of raising fine boys to the status of great men.
“The college also remains ever mindful of the victims and survivors who require our ongoing care, solidarity and support.”
The building which was formerly known as the Pell Wing, will be renamed the Waterford Wing, recognising the home of the Blessed Edmund Rice.
Pell was also on Tuesday afternoon dumped as a vice patron of the Richmond Football Club.
“While acknowledging his right to appeal, the Club has formed a view that his association is no longer tenable or appropriate,” the club said in a statement.
TOUGH TIMES FOR THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
It is the darkest episode in the modern Catholic Church: Pell is the most senior official to ever be convicted of child sexual offending.
There will now be intense pressure on Pope Francis to take swift and severe action following the verdicts.
It is expected there will be calls for Pell to be defrocked.
But any move would likely wait until his anticipated appeal, with Francis previously saying he would comment on the case only after it had concluded in its entirety.
He has remained on bail since the verdicts were delivered so he could undergo a double-knee replacement in Sydney.
But he is expected to soon be stripped of his freedom with the chief judge flagging he would remand him pending his sentence hearing.
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The Catholic world leader looked stunned as his County Court jury delivered unanimous guilty verdicts to all charges, five in total, following a five week trial.
HOW THE JURY REACHED ITS VERDICT
The jury deliberated for three and a half days before reaching their verdict.
They were under strict instructions not to make Pell a scapegoat for the failings of the Catholic Church’s appalling handling of child sexual abuse.
The 12-person jury was made up of eight men and four women.
It was the second jury to deliberate over the matter after another jury was unable to reach a unanimous, or even majority 11 to 1, verdict.
By their verdict the jury in this second trial accepted that Pell abused the two young choirboys after a Sunday Solemn mass inside St Patrick’s Cathedral following his first mass as archbishop there in the mid-1990s.
Just one of the victims gave evidence at trial. The other passed away several years ago and had denied being abused by any priest.
The living witness, now aged in his 30s, said he and his friend were young sopranos, on scholarship at a prestigious college under an obligation to sing in the cathedral choir.
He said after a Sunday mass he and the other victim ran away during a church procession and made their way to the priests’ sacristy inside the cathedral.
Once there they drank altar wine before being caught by Pell who proceeded to indecently assault them.
Pell was found guilty of one count of sexual penetration of a child and four indecent act charges.
The victim gave evidence in a closed court, and little is known about his testimony.
Applications for a transcript of his evidence have been refused by the court.
VICTIM’S STORY: IN HIS OWN WORDS
The victim released a statement through his lawyer on Tuesday morning.
“Like many survivors I have experienced shame, loneliness, depression and struggle. Like many survivors it has taken me years to understand the impact upon my life,” the victim said.
“At some point we realise that we trusted someone we should have feared and we fear those genuine relationships that we should trust.
“I would like to thank my family near and far for their support of me, and of each other.
“I am a witness in a case brought by the State of Victoria. I have put my trust in the police and the criminal justice system. The process has been stressful and it is not over yet.
“I need space and time to cope with the ongoing criminal process.
“I am not a spokesperson about child sexual abuse. There are many other survivors and advocates who bravely fill this role.
“I am just a regular guy working to support and protect my family as best I can.”
Pell vehemently denied any wrong doing since he was first charged in June last year.
In a record of interview played to the court he forcefully denied allegations made against him and said he would be able to prove the offences alleged were impossible.
One of his key defences was that as Archbishop he was never left alone inside the Cathedral.
His master of ceremonies Monsignor Charles Portelli testified that he escorted the then Archbishop from the moment he arrived at the cathedral, until the moment he left.
Pell’s high-powered legal team, spearheaded by leading QC Robert Richter, argued it would have been impossible for the choirboys to escape the procession unnoticed.
Further, he questioned their ability to gain access to the sacristy, and if so, said they would have been spotted soon after by church staff.
Former cathedral staff and choirboys gave evidence at trial, but none were able to corroborate the central evidence given by the living complainant.
By his own version of events only Pell and the two choir boys were in the room at the time they were abused.
The boys never spoke about the abuse.
Sources close to the Cardinal said the legal team remain stunned by the verdict.
They are planning an appeal.
“The appellate judges have a serious task ahead of them,” a source close to Pell said.
Pell looked visibly stunned as the first guilty verdict was delivered, but remained motionless after that.
His trusted aide, who supported him throughout the trial, signalled her support to him after the verdicts were handed down.
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The verdicts, published around the world despite the court’s strict suppression order, sent shockwaves around the world; Pell is the most senior official to be convicted of a sex offence in the history of the church.
He stood down from his position as Vatican treasurer to return to Melbourne to fight the charges.
Sources said he hoped to return to Rome following the trial.
It appears now his career, marred by his hardline conservative stance that has made him a divisive public figure, has ended in disgrace.
— with AAP
Originally published as Cardinal George Pell spends first night behind bars after being found guilty of sex offences against two boys
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