Vatican sentences ex-diplomat to 5 years in child porn case
VATICAN CITY — The Vatican tribunal on Saturday convicted a former Holy See diplomat and sentenced him to five years in prison for possessing and distributing child pornography in the first such trial of its kind inside the Vatican.
Monsignor Carlo Capella admitted to viewing the images during what he called a period of “fragility” and interior crisis sparked by a job transfer to the Vatican embassy in Washington. He apologized to his family and the Holy See, and appealed for leniency by saying the episode was just a “bump in the road” of a priestly vocation he loved and wanted to continue.
Tribunal President Giuseppe Dalla Torre read out the verdict after a two-day trial and sentenced Capella to five years and a fine of $5,830. Capella will serve the sentence in the Vatican barracks.
Prosecutor Gian Piero Milano had asked for a stiffer sentence due to what he called the “great” amount of material accessed, which included 40 to 55 photos, films and Japanese animation found on his cellphone, an iCloud and Tumblr account.
Prosecutors and Vatican investigators said the material featured 14- to 17-yearold children engaging in sexual acts.
The Vatican recalled Capella after the State Department notified it in 2017 of a “possible violation of laws relating to child pornography images” by one of its diplomats in Washington.