George Pell wins High Court appeal against child sex abuse convictions

Timeline of events in George Pell case:

• 2015: A former choirboy tells Victoria Police he and another boy were sexually abused by George Pell in the 1990s, shortly after he became Archbishop of Melbourne
• February, 2016: The Herald Sun newspaper reveals a Victoria Police taskforce is investigating Pell for historical child sexual abuse, the first time the investigation is made public
• October, 2016: Detectives question Pell in Rome about a number of allegations. The Cardinal denies any wrongdoing
• June 29, 2017: Pell is charged with historical child sexual abuse offences. He says he is looking forward to his day in court
• June 29, 2017: The Pope grants Pell leave to return to Australia to fight the charges
• May 1, 2018: Pell pleads not guilty after being committed to stand trial for historical sexual offences. The most serious of the charges against him are struck out
• August 15, 2018: A trial into the allegations Pell abused two choirboys when he was Archbishop of Melbourne in the 1990s begins at the County Court of Victoria
• September 20, 2018: The jury is unable to reach a verdict and is discharged
• November 7, 2018: A second trial begins
• December 11, 2018: A jury finds Pell guilty of one count of sexual penetration of a child under the age of 16 and four counts of committing an indecent act with, or in the presence of, a child. A suppression order banning all reporting on the trial is in place until the delivery of a verdict in another case
• February, 2019: The other case, relating to separate historic sex offence allegations, is dropped by Victoria’s Director of Public Prosecutions
• February 26, 2019: The suppression order is lifted and the guilty verdict is made public
• March 13, 2019: The County Court of Victoria sentences Pell to six years’ jail, with a non-parole period of three years and eight months
• June 5 – June 6, 2019: The Victorian Court of Appeal hears two days of legal argument as Pell appeals against his convictions on three grounds
• August 21, 2019: The Victorian Court of Appeal unanimously rejects two of the grounds for appeal, and a 2-1 decision rejects the third ground. Pell’s convictions are upheld
• March 10 – March 11, 2020: The full bench of the High Court of Australia hears two days of legal argument from Pell’s legal team and Victorian prosecutors. The court reserves its decision
• April 7, 2020: The High Court of Australia delivers its decision in Brisbane

via George Pell wins High Court appeal against child sex abuse convictions – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)