Catholic Cardinal George Pell's appeal against his child sexual abuse conviction has been dismissed and he will remain in prison.
Pell was convicted in December of five charges over the rape of one 13-year-old choirboy and sexual assault of another at St Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne in 199
The Court of Appeal sitting in Victoria rejected the centrepiece of Pell's appeal in a 2-1 decision in Melbourne on Wednesday.
Chief Justice Ann Ferguson and President Chris Maxwell were agreed in their decision, while Justice Mark Weinberg said he would have ordered Pell be acquitted.
"Cardinal Pell was successful in seeking leave to appeal in relation to the first ground — however, by majority, the appeal has been dismissed," Chief Justice Ferguson said.
She added, "Justice Maxwell and I accepted the prosecution's submission that the complainant was a compelling witness, was clearly not a liar, was not a fantasist and was a witness of truth".
he complainant ... was clearly not a liar Chief Justice Ann Ferguson
"We decided that there was nothing about the complainant's evidence or about the opportunity evidence which meant that the jury must have had a doubt about the truth of the complainant's account."
Sydney barrister Brett Walker, who led Pell's appeal, had argued the crimes were "impossible" as Pell's robes were too "heavy" and "cumbersome".
But Chief Justice Ferguson said "we found that the robes were capable of being manoeuvered in a way that might be described as being pulled to one side or pulled apart".
Cheers were heard outside the court at the news.
Three justices heard Pell's appeal over two days in June.
Bret Walker SC argued three grounds to secure Pell's release or a retrial, including that the verdicts were "unsafe and unsatisfactory".
He was sentenced in March to six years in prison, to serve three years and eight months before becoming eligible for parole.
Two other appeal grounds could secure Pell a retrial, unless the court determines forcing Pell to stand trial a third time would be unjust. In that case Pell would also walk free.
Evidence from prosecution witnesses showed Pell greeted parishioners after mass, when the offending was said to have occurred, so it was not possible for him to have committed the "atrocious" crime, Mr Walker said in the appeal.
"If (Pell) was at the western door, then the law of physics tells us this is literally, logically impossible for the offending to have occurred according to the complainant's account, and there is no other account," Mr Walker said.
The other of Pell's victims died in 2014, aged 31, from a drug overdose.
The boy's father, who is suing the priest and the Catholic Church, claiming his son's death was linked to his sexual abuse, confirmed on Tuesday he would continue his fight for compensation whether or not Pell was released from jail.
Prosecutor Chris Boyce QC told the appeal justices that the surviving boy, now aged in his 30s, had stood up to "one of the great old-style cross-examinations" with calm, reliable and credible testimony in last year's trial.
"He was a witness of truth," Mr Boyce said.
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