Carlos Cruz, a defendant and former TV presenter, arrives at a court in Lisbon on Friday for the verdict in a major child sex abuse trial that lasted almost six years. Carlos Cruz, a defendant and former TV presenter, arrives at a court in Lisbon on Friday for the verdict in a major child sex abuse trial that lasted almost six years. (Armando Franca/Associated Press)

A Portuguese court found six men guilty Friday of crimes relating to child sex abuse in a major trial that lasted nearly six years.

Chief prosecutor Miguel Matias said the six were found guilty of crimes including 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 men were handed jail sentences of between six and 18 years for sexual abuse. A female defendant, whose house was allegedly used by the ring, was acquitted.

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

The abuse centred on Casa Pia, a 230-year-old institution caring for about 4,500 needy children, most of them living in dormitories at its premises around the capital.

The victims, now aged between 16 and 22, gave chilling testimony during the trial and identified their alleged abusers by pointing to them across the courtroom.

Carlos Silvino, a 53-year-old former driver at the Casa Pia, confessed to more than 600 crimes and incriminated the other defendants.

They include Carlos Cruz, a popular television presenter with a three-decade career in show business, and Jorge Ritto, a decorated career diplomat and former UNESCO ambassador. Three other men were also charged with child sex abuse, including a doctor and a former Casa Pia ombudsman.