Cardinal George Pell committal hearing to be held behind closed doors

VICTORIA (AUSTRALIA)
The Age

December 12, 2017

By Adam Cooper

The first half of the hearing that determines whether Cardinal George Pell will stand trial on historical sex offences will be closed to the public, when his alleged victims give evidence over a period of up to 10 days.

Prosecutors have booked a remote witness facility – a video link that allows complainants alleging sexual abuse to give evidence from a location outside the court room – for the first two weeks of Cardinal Pell’s committal hearing, Melbourne Magistrates Court heard on Tuesday.

The committal hearing, which will determine whether Cardinal Pell stands trial, is due to start on March 5 and run for four weeks.

Cardinal Pell, 76, faces charges of historical sexual offences involving multiple complainants. Details of the charges are yet to be revealed.

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