Child sex conviction 'wrong', says lawyers of ex- Vatican treasurer Pell

Lawyers for disgraced ex-Vatican treasurer and Cardinal George Pell claimed that he remains behind bars for child sex abuse based on "wrong" and "egregious" legal decisions, as they concluded a last-ditch appeal in Australia's top court.

The 78-year-old former Vatican treasurer is trying to overturn a six-year sentence for sexually assaulting two choirboys in the 1990s.

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He began serving a six-year prison sentence a year ago, becoming the highest-ranking Catholic clergyman worldwide to be jailed for child sex offences.

Pell's barrister Bret Walker told the High Court there were "compounding improbabilities" in the case that had pitted the powerful clergyman against a former choirboy victim.

Walker said the "shocking allegations" of sexual abuse were said to have taken place in a crowded cathedral and another public space, which he argued was "quite different" from typical sexual offending that tended to occur in "covert" settings.

In written submissions the prosecutioncalled the appeal "problematic", saying the defence argument "glosses over evidence" that supports the victim's account.

The High Court of Australia began a two-day hearing on Wednesday that marks Pell's last avenue of appeal.

The court's seven judges could decide to reject the appeal, leaving Pell to serve the remainder of his sentence, or allow it, giving him the prospect of walking free. They could also send the case back to a lower court to reconsider.

A jury found him guilty in December 2018 on five counts of abusing the 13-year-old choirboys at a Melbourne cathedral when he was archbishop of the city.

That verdict was upheld in August 2019 by a three-judge panel in a 2-1 decision, finding that it was open to the trial jury to find Pell guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.