FILE PHOTO: Former Vatican treasurer George Pell arrives after travelling for first time since he was acquitted of child sex abuse charges in Australia, at Rome's Fiumicino Airport, September 30, 2020. REUTERS/Alberto Lingria/File Photo
MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australian media companies apologised in court on Wednesday for breaching a suppression order on reporting a child sex assault conviction, since overturned, of former Vatican treasurer George Pell in 2018.
A dozen Australian media outlets pled guilty for breaching the gag order in a deal with the state, which has dropped all other charges against the companies and their reporters, editors and presenters, sparing them potential jail sentences.
