Former TV personality Carlos Cruz, sentenced to six years in jail for child sex abuse in the Casa Pia paedophile scandal, has been thwarted yet again in a bid for early release. One of the many high-profile defendants convicted in the case, Cruz has always maintained his innocence. This led to the judge’s decision based, say newspapers, on the defendant’s failure to “interiorise” blame or “show regret”.
Cruz will thus return to Sintra’s Carregueira jail to serve the remainder of his sentence. Fellow Casa Pia defendant, former UNESCO ambassador Jorge Ritto is another inmate at the jail, having also failed to secure an early release.
Both men were recently stripped of their honours: Cruz of his Grand Order of the Infante D. Henrique – bestowed for his work on the executive commission for Portugal’s candidacy for the Euro 2004 football championships – and Ritto of his Grand Necklace of the Infante D. Henrique, awarded for services rendered to Portugal as an ambassador.
