LONDON (ENGLAND)
Spiked
April 10, 2020
By Luke Gittos
Pell is entitled to his innocence. But we should be wary of judges overturning decisions made by juries.
Earlier this week, the Australian High Court quashed the conviction of Cardinal George Pell. Pell was convicted in December 2018 on five charges of sexual assault against two 13-year-old boys. He was sentenced to six years in prison.
The case has a long history. In 2013, police in Victoria launched an investigation into Pell. At that time, there were apparently no accusers. A number of witnesses and allegations later emerged. One witness, who became known as witness J, claimed that Pell abused him and another boy following a Sunday Mass in 1996. The second boy died of a heroin overdose in 2014 and retracted his allegation against Pell shortly before his death. There are a number of other allegations, some of which are proceeding in civil courts, though it was witness J’s evidence that was eventually used to convict Pell.
The assault allegedly occurred at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne. Witness J claimed that he and another boy had trespassed into the sacristy section of the church, which was off-limits to the public. According to J, when Pell found them he proceeded to commit sexual violence against both of them, while still dressed in his vestments.
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