MELBOURNE, Australia -- The most senior Catholic to be convicted of child sex abuse was sentenced in an Australian court today to six years in prison for molesting two choirboys in a Melbourne cathedral more than 20 years ago.
Victoria state County Court Chief Judge Peter Kidd ordered Cardinal George Pell to serve a minimum of three years and eight months before he is eligible for parole. The five convictions against Pell carried a maximum possible sentence of 10 years each.
"In my view, your conduct was permeated by staggering arrogance," Kidd said in handing down the sentence.
Pope Francis' former finance minister was convicted in December of orally raping a 13-year-old choirboy and indecently dealing with the boy and the boy's 13-year-old friend in the late 1990s, months after Pell became archbishop of Melbourne. A court order had suppressed media reporting the news until last month.
The 77-year-old denies the allegations and will appeal his convictions in the Victoria Court of Appeal on June 5.
In explaining his sentencing decision, the judge said Pell had led an "otherwise blameless life." Kidd said he believed that given Pell's age and lack of any other criminal record, the cardinal posed no risk of re-offending.
The judge also noted that he was sentencing Pell for the offenses on which the cardinal had been convicted -- and not for the sins of the Catholic Church.
But the judge said that Pell had abused his position of power and had shown no remorse for his crimes. Kidd described the assaults as egregious, degrading and humiliating to the victims.
Pell showed no emotion during the hourlong hearing. He signed documents that registered him for life as a serious sexual offender before he was led from the dock by four prison officers.
In a statement, one of Pell's victims called the judge's sentence "meticulous and considered."
"It is hard for me, for the time being, to take comfort in this outcome. I appreciate that the court has acknowledged what was inflicted upon me as a child. However, there is no rest for me. Everything is overshadowed by the forthcoming appeal," the man said in a statement read outside court by one of his lawyers, Vivian Waller.
Information for this article was contributed by Kristen Gelineau of The Associated Press.
A Section on 03/13/2019