Cardinal George Pell’s defence attorney has accused “thwarted” victims of child sexual abuse of inventing claims of historic sex offences against the cardinal to punish the Catholic Church. On the final day of a four-week hearing to determine whether Pell will stand trial over the charges, Robert Richter QC argued Pell’s position as “the face” of the church in Australia made him an “obvious target”, speculating that the allegations brought against him may have been “the product of fantasy [or] the product of some mental problems that the complainant may have been having”. Magistrate Belinda Wallington will hand down her decision on May 1.
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/thebriefing/2018/04/18
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/thebriefing/2018/04/18
