Cardinal George Pell begins appeal against child sexual assault conviction

Pell's lawyer will present three grounds to appeal conviction, over which cardinal was sentenced to six years in jail

Cardinal George Pell, once the financial controller of the Vatican and a close confidant of the Pope, will begin a legal fight on Wednesday to have his conviction for child sexual abuse offences overturned.

Pell, 77, was convicted in December on four charges of an indecent act on a child under the age of 16, and one charge of sexual penetration of a child under 16. The verdict was subject to a suppression order and could not be revealed until February. In March he was sentenced to six years in jail, with a non-parole period of three years and eight months.