Australian court fines media for breach of suppression order in Cardinal Pell sex assault case

An Australian court on Friday ordered a dozen media firms to pay fines for breaching a suppression order on reporting the conviction of former Vatican treasurer George Pell for child sexual assault.

An Australian court on Friday ordered a dozen media firms to pay fines for breaching a suppression order on reporting the conviction of former Vatican treasurer George Pell for child sexual assault. The 12 media outlets, mostly owned by Nine Entertainment Co and Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, pled guilty in February to breaching the gag order on reporting on the trial and conviction of the cardinal, after the state agreed to drop all charges against journalists and editors.

Supreme Court of Victoria Justice John Dixon convicted the media firms saying they had "frustrated the suppression order as they diminished its purpose or efficacy by reporting information contrary to the terms of the order". Pell's conviction for abusing two choirboys was overturned in April last year after he was jailed for more than a year.

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