7 found guilty in Portugese sex abuse case

By Al Goodman, Madrid Bureau Chief

Defendants include a Portugese TV start and former diplomat
All had insisted they were innocent

(CNN) -- Judges issued guilty verdicts on Friday in Lisbon against all seven defendants, including a well-known Portuguese television star and a former diplomat, in a long-running child sexual abuse case that has riveted national attention, the Portuguese official news service Lusa reported.

"Judges, reading the verdict today, say criminal activity has been proven against all seven defendants," Lusa reported.

But the three-judge panel did not immediately reveal the specific crimes committed by each defendant, who had maintained they were innocent.

Prosecutors have tallied a total of 800 crimes against the defendants after hearing from 32 alleged victims who said they were raped and otherwise abused as children when they were in Casa Pia, a state-run home for orphans and the needy in Lisbon.