LISBON, (Reuters) – A Portuguese court jailed six  people for up to 18 years yesterday for abusing children from a  state orphanage, in a six-year court case that has shocked the  nation.

The defendants, including a well-known television presenter,  a former diplomat and two doctors, received sentences of between  just under six years and 18 years for their participation in   abuse of children living at the Casa Pia state home.

One defendant, who had been linked to a house where abuse  took place, was acquitted.

The ruling was hailed as a victory by those fighting for  children’s rights in the country.

“The stories that I heard were the most terrible of my  life,” said Catalina Pestana, who was put in charge of Casa Pia  after the crimes were first reported in 2002.

“I think Portugal, the country, all of us, won a lot from  this process. Now, when a child accuses an adult, nobody will  look with the same lack of attention that they did for many  years.”

In the packed courtroom, judges Lopes Barata and Ester  Santos read out the findings of the investigation, including how  Carlos Silvino, a former driver at Casa Pia, had sexually abused  under-aged boys in the orphanage’s garage and then paid them.

Silvino, who had confessed to some of the crimes, received  the harshest sentence of 18 years.