George Pell has spent his last night behind bars before walking free from prison after a unanimous decision to have his convictions quashed.
The 78-year-old found out his fate on Tuesday after 10am when the High Court of Australia broke the news on Twitter.
Watch the video above
Pell left Victoria’s Barwon Prison in a black SUV just after 12.30pm.
“The High Court granted special leave to appeal against a decision of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Victoria and unanimously allowed the appeal,” the judgment read.
“The High Court found that the jury, acting rationally on the whole of the evidence, ought to have entertained a doubt as to the applicant’s guilt with respect to each of the offences for which he was convicted, and ordered that the convictions be quashed and that verdicts of acquittal be entered in their place.”
Read the summary here.
A limited number of people were allowed in the courtroom due to coronavirus social distancing rules.
Pell has spent more than 400 days behind bars since being taken into custody last February.
A jury found Pell guilty of five charges in December 2018, accepting evidence of one complainant that the Cardinal had sexually abused him and another 13-year-old choirboy at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne in 1996.
An appeal to Victoria’s Court of Appeal last year was unsuccessful.
But the full bench of seven judges revealed in a unanimous judgment on Tuesday that the jury should have had reasonable doubt as to Pell’s guilt.
Pell has always maintained his innocence.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews’ responds
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews made a succinct statement after Pell was released.
“I make no comment about today’s High Court decision,” he said.
“But I have a message for every single victim and survivor of child sex abuse:
“I see you.
“I hear you.
“I believe you.”
Victoria Police ‘respects the decision’
In a statement, Victoria Police said it respected the court decision.
“We respect the decision of the High Court in this matter and continue to provide support to those complainants involved,” it read.
“Victoria Police remains committed to investigating sexual assault offences and providing justice for victims no matter how many years have passed.
“We would also like to acknowledge the tireless work on this case by Taskforce Sano investigators over many years.”
George Pell’s statement:
I have consistently maintained my innocence while suffering from a serious injustice.
This has been remedied today with the High Court’s unanimous decision.
I look forward to reading the judgment and reasons for the decision in detail.
I hold no ill will toward my accuser, I do not want my acquittal to add to the hurt and bitterness so many feel; there is certainty hurt and bitterness enough.
However my trial was not a referendum on the Catholic Church; nor a referendum on how Church authorities in Australia dealt with the crime of paedophilia in the church.
The point was whether I had committed these awful crimes, and I did not.
The only basis for long term healing is truth and the only basis for justice is truth, because justice means truth for all.
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