Cardinal George Pell arrives in Sydney ahead of court appearance on sex abuse charges

Cardinal George Pell arrives in Sydney ahead of his first court appearance for historical sexual abuse charges later this month.

Pell was spotted during a stopover in Singapore on the weekend and arrived in Sydney this morning.

He was met by security and whisked away to a waiting car at the airport’s loading dock.

He is due to face the Melbourne Magistrates Court on July 26.

Pell has always maintained his innocence and strenuously denied allegations of historical sexual abuse, the details of which have not been made public.

Late last month, Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton told reporters the charges involved multiple complainants.

Deputy Commissioner Patton said the “process and procedures” being followed had been the same as those applied “in a whole range of historical sex offences, whenever we investigate them”.

Pell: from publican’s son to priest

Pell was the son of a Ballarat publican, a head prefect at school and a talented Australian Rules footballer, who was signed as a ruckman by the Richmond Football Club.

His studies took him to Rome and then Oxford.

In 1971 he returned to Victoria as an ordained priest, and rose through the ranks to eventually become Archbishop of Melbourne.

Source: Cardinal George Pell arrives in Sydney ahead of court appearance on sex abuse charges – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)