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LISBON, Portugal - A yearlong investigation. A case file 13,000 pages long. Televised testimony by boys describing rapes by adults in dark cellars. And at last: 10 high-level indictments in an alleged pedophile ring run from a state children's home.
Among those indicted Monday were two popular TV personalities, a lawmaker and a retired ambassador. Prosecutors did not publicly detail the allegations, and the sealed indictments threw little light on the case.
Still, the charges may soothe the public clamor for action, which has only grown since a whistleblower broke the scandal last November. Since then, former officials have said abuse at the home stretched back to the mid 1970s but authorities did nothing to stop it, sparking suspicion of a high-level coverup.
Prime Minister Jose Durao Barroso vowed Tuesday that magistrates would not flinch from their prosecution in a case that has already undermined the public trust. Wiretaps of questionable legality, constant leaks to the media and missing police records have sharpened the sense of uncertainty.
"The Portuguese people want justice to be done. So do I," Durao Barroso said. "As prime minister, I have complete confidence in the Portuguese legal system."
Nine men and one woman were charged Monday with sexually abusing minors and adolescents, rape and organizing a pedophile ring at the Casa Pia home. No trial date has been set.
Among those indicted are Herman Jose, a celebrated comic and host of a Sunday night talk show; Carlos Cruz, a former talk show and quiz show host; Paulo Pedroso, a lawmaker and spokesman for the main opposition Socialist Party until he became embroiled in the scandal this year; and retired ambassador Jorge Ritto.