LONDON AP A gay rights activist who disrupted the Archbishop of Canterbury's Easter Sunday sermon was convicted Tuesday of indecent behavior in a church and fined a token 18.60 pounds dlrs 30.69. Peter Tatchell leader of the British gay rights group Outrage was charged under the obscure 1860 Ecclesiastical Courts Jurisdiction Act hence the amount of the fine for entering the pulpit of Canterbury Cathedral as Dr. George Carey prepared to preach to a congregation of 1000. While six of his fellow protesters held up placards Tatchell criticized Britain's leading cleric for opposing the reduction of the homosexual age of consent and refusing to ordain gays. His case sparked a high-profile campaign to get the 1860 law repealed with free speech campaigners pointing out he could be jailed for up to two months the maximum penalty and the sentence handed down when the law was last used in 1966 against anti-war protesters who interrupted a church service. But Canterbury Stipendiary Magistrate Michael Kelly settled for a fine saying he considered the offense equivalent to a minor public disorder infraction. During the two-day trial Tatchell had argued that his right to free speech was guaranteed under human rights laws. But the magistrate said the same laws enshrined the right of people to worship. ``You are a man of previous good character and you have a clear commitment to your cause and a belief in non-violent protest'' Kelly said. But he added ``I am sure that some people will have been disgusted and truly offended by your conduct.'' ``I think your conduct violated the rights of worshippers on one of the most important days in the Christian calendar.'' Tatchell said after the trial that he had no regrets ``about standing up for democracy.'' In a statement Carey said in convicting Tatchell the court ''has recognized unequivocally that his behavior cannot be condoned; nor can the considerable pain and distress caused by Mr. Tatchell to many people who were trying to engage in their legal right to worship unmolested.'' er-scl APW19981201.1023.txt.body.html APW19981201.1155.txt.body.html