Cardinal George Pell opens up on his time behind bars for the first time to reveal he was abused by inmates – and how says he considered abandoning the fight to clear his name in his darkest hours

AUSTRALIA
Daily Mail

July 13, 2020

By Thomas Duff

– Cardinal George Pell revealed he was spat on and verbally abuse by inmates
– Pell, 78 said he almost gave up appealing his conviction in the High Court
– The cardinal was released from jail in April after convictions were quashed
– Pell was convicted in December 2018 of five charges of child sexual abuse

Cardinal George Pell says he was spat on and abused while in jail for alleged child sex offences and almost abandoned his appeal until a prison boss urged him not to give up.

Pell has opened up for the first time about his 405 days behind bars during which he says he received the disdain of even murderers.

Australia’s highest-ranking Catholic was convicted in December 2018 of five charges of child sexual abuse relating to allegations he raped a 13-year-old choirboy and molested another at St Patrick’s Cathedral in 1996.

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