Australian Media Fined For Reporting On Cardinal George Pell Conviction

George Pell was convicted for abusing two choir boys but was later cleared on appeal. The media outlets allegedly ignored the gag order of the court.

A dozen major Australian news organisations were fined Friday for breaching court orders that banned reporting on Cardinal George Pell's 2018 conviction on child sex abuse charges, which was later overturned. The news outlets were found guilty of 21 counts of contempt of court for ignoring the gag order in the case of Pell, a top Vatican official who was convicted of abusing two choirboys but later cleared on appeal after spending a year in prison. They were fined a total of Aus$1.1 million (US$855,000) and ordered to pay an additional Aus$650,000 in court costs. The news organisations had already pleaded guilty in a deal with the court that led to contempt charges being dropped against 18 individual journalists and editors who had faced possible jail time if they were also convicted.