Pell Sex Charges Possible but Doubts Rise over Fair Trial

By Rebecca Urban
Weekend Australian
May 27, 2017

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The former prosecutor who put gangland killer Carl Williams behind bars has suggested charges against George Pell are a distinct possibility but warned that he had concerns about whether he could get a fair trial.

Retired Victorian senior crown prosecutor Geoffrey Horgan­ QC told The Weekend Australian there were unique pressures when weighing up cases. “It seems to me it’s going to take a tough-minded police ... to say ‘we will not try this case’,” Mr Horgan said. “It’s much harder to decide to not prosecute than to prosecute. The public backlash would be enormous.”

Mr Horgan’s comments come as Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton confirmed this week that police were reviewing final advice from the state’s ­Office of Public Prosecutions on allegations of child sexual­ abuse against Cardinal Pell and a decision on charges was ­“imminent”.

Mr Horgan, who successfully prosecuted serial killer Peter Dupas during almost two decades with the OPP, has backed concerns about whether the Ballarat-born clergyman could receive a fair trial.