Australia's highest court overturns abuse convictions of Cardinal George Pell

Cardinal George Pell.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Cardinal George Pell, the most senior Catholic leader ever found guilty of sexually abusing children, has had his convictions overturned and will be released from prison.

He was found guilty in 2018 of molesting two boys in 1996, when he was archbishop of Melbourne, and sentenced to six years in prison. Australia's high court on Tuesday overturned his convictions after finding the jury "ought to have entertained a doubt as to the applicant's guilt with respect to each of the offenses for which he was convicted."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.