Cardinal George Pell, the most senior Catholic cleric to be convicted of sexual abuse, has failed in a legal bid to quash his convictions in Australia.<\/p>\n
Pell was jailed for six years in March after being found guilty of abusing two boys in a Melbourne cathedral in the 1990s. He maintains his innocence.<\/p>\n
A court of appeal rejected Pell’s argument that the verdict was unfair.<\/p>\n
The former Vatican treasurer, 78, will now remain in jail until he is eligible for parole in October 2022.<\/p>\n
Last December, a jury unanimously convicted Pell of sexually abusing the 13-year-old boys after a mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral, and of abusing one of the boys again on another occasion.<\/p>\n
Pell challenged the verdict by arguing it was “unreasonable” because there was insufficient evidence for the jury to convict him beyond a reasonable doubt.<\/p>\n
The cleric’s lawyers said the jury had relied too heavily on the “uncorroborated evidence” of the sole surviving victim. But his appeal was dismissed 2-1 by a panel of three judges in Victoria’s Court of Appeal on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
“Justice [Chris] Maxwell and I accepted the prosecution’s submission that the complainant was a compelling witness, was clearly not a liar, was not a fantasist and was a witness of truth,” said Chief Justice Anne Ferguson.<\/p>\n
Pell was present for the hearing.<\/p>\n
Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"