The sister of a man who claims Cardinal George Pell sexually assaulted him in a public pool in the 1970s has released a statement on behalf of her family following his conviction.
Karen Monument, sister of Lyndon Monument, told The Age the four years since her brother came forward publicly with allegations against Pell had been dark and difficult.
In her family's first statement since Pell's conviction for sexually assaulting two 13- year-old choirboys in a separate case, Ms Monument slammed those who had come out in defence of Australia's top Catholic in the wake of his conviction, saying it was 'her turn to speak'.
Former prime minister John Howard wrote a reference letter to the court depending Pell's character, while fellow former prime minister Tony Abbott said he called Pell following his conviction.
Karen Monument (left) sister of Lyndon Monument (right) said the process leading up to trial had been incredibly difficult and taxing for her family
Lyndon's trial, often referred to as 'the swimmer's trial', was scheduled to be held after Pell's trial late last year, which was referred to as 'the cathedral trial'.
The case was dismissed due to a lack of evidence, but Ms Monument says her family is not upset, as they believe justice has been served.
Ms Monument said the process leading up to trial had been incredibly difficult and taxing for her family.
'The impact of child sexual abuse inflicted by members of the Catholic Church began reverberating in my family home almost 40 years ago and culminated in the loss of a brother to suicide just over 10 years ago.
'I did not think that my family could ever experience a pain and a darkness like that ever again. But I was wrong.
'The decision to come forward with allegations against George Pell, almost four years ago, set my brother, myself and my family on a journey that has had equally dark times and inflicted stress that I did not, at times, think we would survive.'
She praised the jury of eight men and four women for their dedication to seeing out the trial, and for making the difficult decision.
Pell is the most senior member of the clergy to be charged with historical child sex offences.
He was found guilty by a jury of 12 people in December, and taken to jail on Wednesday. He will be sentenced on March 13, and his legal counsel are expected to launch an appeal against that sentence immediately after.
Ms Monument said Pell's guilty conviction was a win for sexual abuse victims everywhere.
Mr Monument claimed Cardinal George Pell sexually assaulted him in a public pool (pictured) in the 1970s
'It can't have been easy, will have taken courage and conviction, caused sleepless nights and returned them to their families changed from their experience,' she said.
'In all of this noise, their message comes through quietly, powerfully and is directed to those who have not yet come forward and sadly to those who are yet to have their experience – you are safe, we believe you. Thank you, to the 12, for inspiring me to use my voice and my right to free speech.'
In the rest of her statement, Ms Monument slammed the 'men of white privilege and power' who stood up to defend Pell after he was convicted, and Pell's attorney Robert Richter QC who, in an attempt to mitigate the Cardinal's sentence, described his offending as 'nothing more than a plain, vanilla sexual penetration case where a child is not volunteering or actively participating'.
'The words spoken by Robert Richter in court on Wednesday (I will not repeat them) have gone round and round in my mind since I first read them,' she said.
'The impact those words had on survivors is well documented across social media platforms, they will impact survivors for days, weeks and for some months.
'I am sorry you had to endure such disrespect and further harm. I hope that you have the support and care that you need right now.'
Pell (pictured left in 2011 and right in 2019) was found guilty of four counts of indecent assault and one count of rape by a jury at the County Court of Victoria
The two young boys had 'nicked off' after a Sunday solemn mass at St Patrick's Cathedral (pictured) in 1996 when Pell found them in the priest's sacristy
In 'the cathedral trial', Pell's lone surviving victim, who is now in his 30s, told the court via video-link how he and his friend were molested by Pell as teenagers.
The victim said he and his friend had 'nicked off' after a Sunday mass in December 1996 and were caught swigging sacramental wine in the priest's sacristy by Pell, who had just been appointed Archbishop of Melbourne.
Pell confronted them, told them they were 'in trouble', before exposing his penis from beneath his ornate ceremonial robes and molesting the two young boys.
The court was closed for the survivor's evidence of the events that followed - including his recollection of standing frozen, watching his friend 'squirm' as his head was pulled toward Pell's genitals.
'Then he turned to me,' he said.
The surviving victim, who cannot be identified, recalled Pell orally raping him and demanding he then remove his pants.
Pell then fondled the boy's genitals. The teen put his pants back on and together the boys rejoined their choir.
The attack was described by Victorian County Court Chief Judge Peter Kidd as 'callous' and 'brazen'.
After four days of deliberation, the jury returned to unanimously find Pell guilty.
Senior legal counsel have claimed Pell's case may have gone differently had he been allowed to take the stand.
This is the sacristy of St Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne, as it looks today and shown to the jury, where Cardinal George Pell molested two 13-year-old choirboys in his ceremonial robes
On the other side of the room is a kitchen sink and cabinets next to the altar wine cabinet, a small room with a white door left slightly ajar
Silks, who spoke to the Australian Financial Review on condition of anonymity, said the case could have swung in his favour had he taken the stand to deny the allegations.
'You want the accused to be giving credible evidence,' one said.
'Not giving evidence has potential to hurt you, especially when it goes to the possibility of certain things happening.'
Pell did not take the stand at all during his lengthy trial - the second to be held after a jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict in September. The jury was instead played a recording of Pell's interview with Australian police in Rome.
The Cardinal appeared upset as he denied claims he had caught two 13-year-old choirboys in the sacristy of Melbourne's St Patrick's Cathedral in December 1996, drinking the sacramental wine, and proceeded to expose himself and pull each boy's head in towards his penis.
When officers put to him an accusation he had knelt masturbating while fondling one of the boy's bare genitalia, Pell, who appeared rattled by the nature of the allegations, called the idea 'a load of garbage'.
'After Sunday Mass,' he said. 'Well, need I say any more? What a load of garbage and falsehood and deranged falsehood.'
Pell's inability to interact with the jury at all is one of three key points his legal representation will base their appeal on after the former Vatican treasurer is sentenced.
In court documents, the defence claims there was a 'fundamental irregularity' in the trial process, 'because the accused was not arraigned in the presence of the jury panel', meaning he was not able to enter his plea of not guilty in front of those who would determine his fate.
Robert Richter QC did not have Pell take the stand in his own defence, which some have argued may have hurt his case
The Cardinal's attorneys also argue the jury could not have been convinced 'beyond reasonable doubt' based off the complainant's testimony alone, and that the judge 'erred by preventing the defence from using a moving visual representation of its impossibility argument during the closing address'.
While some have argued Pell should have taken the stand, others claim taking the stand could have done him more harm than good.
'What if you give evidence and the jury dislikes you?' one senior counsel remarked.
Putting an accused person on the stand is not the norm in a criminal trial, and Pell's counsel, Robert Richter QC, has only ever done it twice.
He told The Age one of those clients was Mick Gatto, and he had only placed him on the stand 'because he insisted'.
Criminal barrister Greg Barns told news.com.au Pell's defence team would not have made the decision to keep the Cardinal out of the stand lightly, and also that is was likely not necessary.
'One reason for that is the accused has nothing to prove, it's up to the prosecution to prove the case,' he said.
'The second is because the client has made a recorded interview [with police] in which they've made denials, and that forms part of the evidence and is essentially your defence.'
Pell read out a statement at the beginning of his police interview, having already been informed of the allegations and given some time to prepare.
'The allegations involve vile and disgusting conduct contrary to everything I hold dear, and [which are] contrary to the explicit teachings of the church which I have spent my life representing,' he said.
'They're made against me knowing that I was the first person in the Western world to create a church structure to recognise, compensate and help to heal the wounds inflicted by sexual abuse of children at the hands of some in the Catholic Church.'
Pell introduced the Melbourne Response to help support and give compensation to victims of clergy abuse.
Payouts, which were made in out-of-court settlements, were initially capped at $50,000, a figure which was then increased to $75,000.
The Melbourne Response was established in 1966 - the same year his own offending took place.
WHAT HAPPENED DURING CARDINAL PELL'S TRIAL?
Cardinal George Pell, 77, was found guilty of sexually assaulting two teenage choirboys inside St Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne in December 1996.
His trial lasted 24 days, most of which was heard in open court. The complainant's evidence was heard in closed court, meaning it cannot be reported on.
Pell, Australia's top Catholic and the most senior church official to be charged with historical child sex crimes, will be sentenced on March 13. He is expected to launch an appeal immediately after.
DAY ONE - Thursday November 8, 2018
Cardinal George Pell's retrial begins after a jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict in September.
Prosecutors allege that after Sunday solemn mass at St Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne, two choirboys sneaked away from the procession outside and re-entered the cathedral via a side door.
It is then claimed the two boys entered a priest's sacristy, where they started swigging at the sacramental wine, before being 'caught' by Pell.
It is then alleged that the newly installed archbishop of the Melbourne diocese, still in his ornamental robes, sexually assaulted the pair.
Pell's defence team argues the Cardinal has been unfairly targeted by media, which 'portrayed him as the Darth Vader of the Catholic Church'.
DAYS TWO TO FOUR
Court is closed to the media and public while the complainant gives evidence.
DAY FIVE - Wednesday November 14
Jury, made of eight men and four women, is taken to St Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne to see the sacristy where Pell is accused of orally raping the complainant and molesting another child.
Two former choirboys gave pre-recorded evidence claiming after mass, with one telling the court the choirboys would get changed and go home, but would interact with Pell, who was always robed on Sundays, before mass, and the other saying he could not recall Pell being alone after Sunday solemn mass.
Pictured: The priest's sacristy at St Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne, where Cardinal George Pell is alleged to have sexually assaulted two boys in 1996
DAY SIX - Thursday November 15
Former choirmaster and organist, John Mallinson, 84, tells the court the master of ceremonies at the time, Monsignor Charles Portelli, was a 'stickler' and would have been very focused on keeping control of the choir's exit.
He said he had seen Pell returning to his sacristy following mass 'probably frequently', but said he was usually accompanied by Monsignor Portelli or Dean William McCarthy.
DAY SEVEN - Friday November 16
Organist Geoffrey Cox told the court there was a 'regimented and disciplined' procedure for choristers after mass at the cathedral, and there was 'no deviation'.
Mr Cox said if a chorister was running late back to the rehearsal room after mass, they would have to ring a bell and someone would let them in.
'But that didn't really happen at all,' he said.
DAY EIGHT - Monday November 19
Sacristan Max Potter, who was in charge of the sacristy at St Patrick's, concedes it is possible Pell was alone during the times the choirboys said they were molested, and that sacramental wine, which the boys claimed to have been drinking before they were assaulted, was sometimes left out between masses.
Choirmaster Peter Michael Finnigan said the boys would have been in the front third of the procession when leaving the mass, making it hard for them to escape unnoticed, but as there was no roll-call after the mass, it is possible they had done it.
DAY NINE - Tuesday November 20
Mr Potter, the sacristan, explained the elaborate robes Pell would have been wearing for the service made it only 'inhumanly possible' for the then-Archbishop to have exposed himself through the robes.
Monsignor Charles Portelli told the court he could only remember two occasions over five years where he had not assisted Pell with his robing and disrobing, but noted he had been using the priest's sacristy, where the offending is alleged to have taken place, not the archbishop's sacristy, to dress.
DAY 10 - Wednesday November 21
Former chorister David Dearing said the procession lines the choir left the church in got 'a bit rowdy' once the group was out of public view, and it was 'game on to get out of there and go home'.
Another former choirboy, Anthony Nathan, said in his time in the choir, which was during the period of offending, he had only seen a boy leave the procession lines once, to rush to the bathroom to be sick.
Neither could recall seeing or hearing about anyone ever sneaking away from the line unnoticed.
DAY 11 - Thursday November 22
Two older members of the choir, who would have been behind the two boys when they 'nicked off' from the processional lines to drink wine in the sacristy, told the court they would have seen the pair, and did not remember having done so.
Rodney Dearing said the boys would have been spotted, but had earlier admitted the choristers would bunch up as they neared a point at a rear building.
'I couldn't see half the choir,' he said.
Pell, who was until now Australia's top Catholic, was the Archbishop of Melbourne at the time of the offending, and celebrating mass at St Patrick's (pictured)
DAY 12 - Friday November 23
Former St Patrick's Cathedral choirboy Christopher Doyle testifies while the procession of boys leaving the church after mass became more relaxed out of public view it would be tricky for anyone to slip away unnoticed.
Mr Doyle said he 'never' saw anyone leave the procession, nor did he ever hear about it happening.
'We would have talked about it, absolutely,' he said.
DAY 13 - Monday, November 26
Barrister Daniel McGlone, who was an altar server at St Patrick's Cathedral from 1987 to 1997, says the priest's sacristy was a public space.
He said it was best to think of it as a 'green room' where people would congregate before and after mass.
Mr McGlone said the sacristy was busy after a ceremony or mass with altar servers going back and forth to collect items from the sanctuary, claiming there was 'always someone there'.
DAY 14 - Tuesday, November 27
Pell's 45-minute-long interview with police in Rome is played to the jury, where the Cardinal describes the allegations against him as 'a product of fantasy', and 'absolute and disgraceful rubbish'.
'It's vile and disgusting conduct contrary to everything I hold dear,' Pell said in the interview.
He claimed he was most certainly greeting the public out the front at the time of the alleged offending and by the time he returned the choirboys had disrobed and gone home.
DAY 15 - Wednesday November 28
The jury is told that one of the choirboys allegedly molested in the incident died in 2014 in 'accidental circumstances'.
Sgt Chris Reed said the man's mother had asked him in 2001 if he'd ever been 'interfered with or touched up' while he was in the choir, and he had told her no.
He also said the man had told his father he'd never been 'sexually assaulted or mistreated by any person'.
DAY 16 - Thursday November 29
Former choirboy Andrew La Greca tells the court older choristers would keep the younger members 'in line' during the procession out of the church, and that Brother Peter Finnigan was authoritarian and kept the choir under close watch.
He also said that to his recollection, any time Pell was in his ceremonial robes, he was accompanied by the master of ceremonies.
DAY 17 - Friday November 30
Sgt Reed admits he had no jurisdiction to conduct a formal interview outside Australia, when he flew to Rome to interview Pell at the Vatican.
He said he conducted the interview 'by agreement'. When Mr Richter asked if he had been invited, the sergeant confirmed, and agreed Pell had returned to Australia to face trial voluntarily.
DAY 18 - Monday December 3
Mr Gibson wraps up the prosecution case, telling jurors there were opportunities for the offending to have occurred, and quoting the choirboy's testimony when explaining why it took decades for him to come forward.
'It's something I've carried for the whole of my life... It took a courage much later in life for me to even think about coming forward,' Mr Gibson quoted to jurors.
He pointed out the surviving boy knew details about the sacristy that he could not know without having been inside it at that time, including recollections of wood panelling and an alcove where wine was kept.
Mark Gibson SC, crown prosecutor against Cardinal George Pell, said the complainant had details about the sacristy in the cathedral he could not otherwise know
DAY 19 - Tuesday December 4
Pell's lawyer, Robert Richter QC, tells the court in closing arguments nobody could support the surviving choirboy's claims, and that the man's evidence was 'fanciful' and possibly embellished to the point where he now believed it.
'There is no support by a single witness for (the complainant's) version of events,' he told the jury.
'Only a madman would attempt to rape boys in the priest's sacristy immediately after Sunday solemn mass,' he said, standing in front of a large projector screen displaying the same words.
Pell volunteered to be questioned by police in Rome after he was confronted with the allegations and Mr Richter told the jury they could see from video footage of that interview that he experienced 'genuine shock' and a sense of 'I can demonstrate that's impossible'.
Mr Richter said it was not possible for Pell to have been robed and alone when the incidents allegedly took place
DAY 20 - Wednesday December 5
Mr Richter continues his closing arguments, using a powerpoint presentation.
He claimed 10 'independently impossible' events would have to have occurred within the same 10-minute window in order for the offending to have happened and gone unnoticed.
Robert Richter QC, who acted for Pell, said the Cardinal should not become a scapegoat for the Catholic Church
Mr Richter's list included that 40 or more people would have to not notice the two boys slip away from the procession, that Pell must have been alone and robed in the sacristy and that no other priests or altar servers were moving between the sanctuary and the priest's sacristy as was their practice after mass.
Mr Richter closed his remarks asking jurors to consider the allegations against Pell as an individual, reminding them that Australia's most senior Catholic and third ranking in the church globally, was not on trial for the failings of various clerics.
DAY 21 - Thursday December 6
Judge Peter Kidd tells jurors to think with their heads not their hearts, to act dispassionately in their decision making, and ensure they do not 'scapegoat' Cardinal Pell.
'You mustn't in any way be influenced by knowledge you might have of childhood sexual abuse in the Catholic Church or cover-ups of abuse in the Catholic Church,' he said.
The jury began deliberating in the afternoon.
DAYS 22-23
Jury deliberations continue.
DAY 24 - Tuesday December 11
Pell is found guilty of one count of sexual penetration of a child and four charges of committing indecent acts with or in the presence of a child.
As the jury foreperson read out the verdicts, Pell frowned and hung head his head low.
Judge Kidd allowed Pell's bail to be continued until a plea hearing, after Mr Richter said the cardinal needed surgery to replace both knees.
Link hienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2019/03/01/sister-of-man-who-claims-he-was-sexually-assaulted-by-george-pell-in-a-swimming-pool-fires-back/
Main photo article The sister of a man who claims Cardinal George Pell sexually assaulted him in a public pool in the 1970s has released a statement on behalf of her family following his conviction.
Karen Monument, sister of Lyndon Monument, told The Age the four years since her brother came forward publicly with ...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/03/01/05/10442590-6759263-image-a-55_1551419935632.jpg
