Court starts giving verdicts in Portuguese child sex abuse trial that lasted almost 6 years

LISBON, Portugal – LISBON, Portugal (AP) — A judge has started reading out a Portuguese court's verdicts on more than 800 alleged crimes in a major child sex abuse trial that has lasted nearly six years.

Six men and one woman are accused of sexually abusing minors and adolescents, raping children and running a pedophile ring at a state-run children's home in Lisbon during the 1990s.

The trial, believed to be Portugal's longest, has included testimony from more than 800 witnesses and experts, including 32 alleged victims.

The accused include a national television celebrity and a retired ambassador.

The reading of the verdicts could take much of the day Friday.

The case shook public trust in the country's institutions when the allegations emerged in 2002.