Australian Catholic cardinal George Pell has been sentenced to six years imprisonment with a non-parole period of three years and eight months, becoming the most senior Catholic official in the world to be formally jailed for child sexual abuse.
Pell, 77, was last year found guilty of sexually abusing two 13-year-old choirboys in St Patrick’s Cathedral in East Melbourne following Sunday Mass in December, 1996, while he was Archbishop of Melbourne. He was also found guilty of assaulting one of them a second time two months later.
The former Vatican treasurer was found guilty by a jury of five charges including one of sexual penetration of a child under 16 and four of committing an indecent act with or in the presence of a child. Each carried a maximum jail term of 10 years at the time of the offences.
Handing down the sentence in the County Court in Melbourne, Chief Judge Peter Kidd described the offences as “brazen” and “forceful”. He said the victims, one of whom had since died, had were “distressed” during the offending.
“In my view, your conduct was permeated by staggering arrogance,” he said.
He said Pell had breached the trust of the victims and abused his position within the church and considered his moral culpability to be “high”.
Chief Judge Kidd said he took Pell’s age, health and “good character and otherwise blameless life” into account in sentencing as well as his “likely experience in custody” given concerns over the notoriety and extremely high profile of his case.
Earlier Chief Judge Kidd said he was sentencing Cardinal Pell in a “unique context”.
“You are a figure of significant interest to those of the Catholic faith and to those throughout Australia more generally,” he said. He added that it was fair to say that in some sections of the community he was a “vilified public figure”.
Chief Judge Kidd said Pell was to be punished only for the wrong-doing he committed against the two boys.
“As I directed the jury who convicted you in this trial, you are not to be made a scapegoat for any failings or perceived failings of the Catholic Church,” he said. “Nor are you being sentenced for any failure to prevent or report child sexual abuse by other clergy within the Catholic Church.”
Chief Judge Kidd said he was not sitting in judgement of the Catholic religion or the Catholic Church. He added that there had been examples outside court and elsewhere in the community of a “witch-hunt or lynch mob mentality” in relation to Pell.
“I utterly condemn such behaviour that has nothing to do with justice or a civilised society. The courts stand as a bulwark against such irresponsible behaviour.”
One of the victims of Pell’s offending released a statement in the wake of the sentencing hearing in which he said he appreciated that the court “has acknowledged what was inflicted upon me as a child.”
But he added that it was hard for him to take comfort in the sentence because “everything is overshadowed by the forthcoming appeal”.
Pell, who had pleaded not guilty to the charges, has already announced he is appealing the verdict with a hearing set for June.
News of Pell’s conviction last December was not released until February due to a suppression order.
