Courtroom quashes Cardinal Pell's abuse convictions
Cardinal George Pell has been free of jail just after Australia's highest court overturned his convictions for child sexual abuse.
The ex-Vatican treasurer, 78, was the most senior Catholic figure ever jailed for such crimes.
In 2018, a jury found he abused several boys in Melbourne in the 1990s.
However the High Court of Australia quashed that verdict on Tuesday, bringing an instantaneous end to Cardinal Pell's six-year jail sentence.
The Australian cleric had maintained his innocence since he was charged by police in June 2017.
His circumstance rocked the Catholic Church, where he previously been among the Pope's most senior advisers.
A complete bench of seven judges ruled unanimously in Cardinal Pell's favour, finding that the jury hadn't properly considered all the data presented at the trial.
It had been the cardinal's final legal challenge, after his conviction was upheld by less court last year.
"I have constantly maintained my innocence while suffering from a significant injustice," Cardinal Pell stated in a affirmation on Tuesday before he still left prison.
Why was Pell jailed?
In December 2018, a jury found him guilty of sexually abusing several 13-year-good old choir boys in individual bedrooms of St Patrick's Cathedral in the mid-90s - when the cleric was Archbishop of Melbourne.
The convictions included one count of sexual penetration and several counts of committing indecent acts.
The trial heard testimony from a man alleged to be the sole surviving victim. Dozens of other witnesses presented alibis and additional evidence.
Cardinal Pell appealed against the verdict on Victoria's Court of Appeal last year, but three judges upheld the decision by a 2-1 majority.
