Defending George Pell: 'I believe Pell's a good man'

In this exclusive extract from her book about the case against George Pell, Melissa Davey talks to Robert Richter, the man who defended the cardinal against charges of child sexual abuse

In February 2020, I took the elevator to the fourth floor of a building in the heart of Melbourne’s courts district to interview Robert Richter, the defence barrister who represented George Pell at trial. He led me into his chambers, a room brimming with artwork, papers, books and vintage furniture. By the door was a 255-year-old leather chair made for Dr Samuel Johnson, who wrote the famous eponymous English dictionary. The relic has sentimental meaning for Richter, who taught himself English after moving with his family to Australia as a 13-year-old boy via Israel and the Soviet Union, where he was born.

I put in interview requests with the prosecution, including Mark Gibson, the county court’s chief justice, Peter Kidd, and Bret Walker SC, but Richter was the only one to eventually agree to be interviewed on the record about the case. While I was writing this book, many people I spoke to – including police officers, child-abuse researchers, lawyers and senior figures in Melbourne law – spoke of their respect and admiration for Richter. Some described him as kind; most described him as brilliant. However, none would go on the record, so poor are the optics of speaking favourably of someone representing an accused child-sex offender as high-profile as Pell.

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