Seven found guilty at end of six-year child abuse trial

SIX men have been jailed after being convicted of sexually abusing children in Portugal in a trial that lasted nearly six years and rocked the country.

The men and one woman were found guilty on Friday of crimes including the sex abuse of minors and adolescents, raping children and running a paedophile ring at a state-run children's home in Lisbon during the 1990s.

The men were sentenced to between six and 18 years in jail for sexual abuse. The woman, whose house was used by the ring, was not given a custodial sentence because of a 2007 change in the law, the judge said in the televised ruling without elaborating.

The longest sentence was given to a 53-year-old former driver at the home, Carlos Silvino, who confessed to more than 600 offences and gave evidence against the other defendants.

Others sent to prison were Carlos Cruz, a popular television presenter with a three-decade career in showbusiness, who will serve seven years; and Jorge Ritto, a decorated career diplomat and former Unesco ambassador, who was given six years and eight months in jail. Their lawyers said they would consider an appeal.

Chief prosecutor Miguel Matias said the victims were pleased with the outcome. The abused, now aged between 16 and 22, gave chilling testimony during the trial and identified their attackers by pointing to them in court.

Bernardo Teixeira, one of the victims, said he felt vindicated. "The court recognised we were telling the truth," he said. "It's a happy ending for us. The paedophiles are going to jail."

The three judges read out a summarised version of their decisions, but did not refer to dozens of other alleged crimes they found to be unproven. The ruling, which reportedly runs to almost 2,000 pages, is due to be released this week.

The trial, believed to be Portugal's longest, included testimony from more than 800 witnesses and experts, including 32 alleged victims. The abuse centred on Casa Pia, a 230-year-old institution caring for about 4,500 needy children, most of them living in dormitories at its premises around the capital.

A whistle-blower broke the scandal in 2002, followed by a year-long police investigation. The case shook public trust in Portugal's institutions, and was active at the time of four-year-old Madeleine McCann's abduction in the resort town of Praia da Luz in 2007.

Catalina Pestana, who was head of Casa Pia at the time, said: "These were some of the most horrible stories I have ever heard."