The court recognized the Vatican Monsignor Carlo Alberto Capella (Capella Carlo Alberto), a former employee of the Vatican Nunciature in Washington guilty of possessing and distributing child pornography, reported the news Agency CNS, writes the Week.
Judge Giuseppe Della Torre (Giuseppe Della Torre), the head of the Tribunal of Vatican city State, ruled on 23 June 2018 and sentenced Carlo Alberto Capella to five years of imprisonment and fined him 5 000 euros.
In a press-service of Vatican has informed that the Chapel will serve his sentence in the prison cell of the Vatican, located in the building of the gendarmerie corps of Vatican city State.
It is assumed that this is the same camera that was previously prepared for the Paolo Gabriele (Paolo Gabriele), a former papal Butler who was released to the public closed to the papal correspondence in 2012 with Benedict XVI. Also in this cell was a former Secretary of the Prefecture for economic Affairs of the Holy see, Lucio Vallejo Balda (Lucio Vallejo Balda), who was convicted of leaking confidential documents of financial reform of the Vatican in 2016. And Paolo Gabriele and Vallejo Balda was pardoned after serving few months after the announcement of their sentences.
Monsignor Chapel was accused of having kept “a large amount” of child pornography and shared these materials with others. Their number was such that the prosecution felt this aggravating circumstance in the proceedings in the Vatican court.
Before the verdict of the judge presiding in the case, listened to the Prosecutor of the Vatican Zanotti Roberto (Roberto Zanotti), which recommended the sentence of the Italian Prelate to five years and nine months in prison and impose a fine of 10,000 euros. However, Roberto Borgogno (Roberto Borgogno), advocate of the Chapel, prayed the court to grant the Monsignor abbreviated sentence and referred to the crimes of his client as a “problem” requiring intensive care and not heavy sentence.
Before sentencing Chapel appealed to the court with a statement in which he said: “the Mistakes I made, obvious, as well as a period of weakness. I’m sorry that my weakness has hurt the Church, the Holy see and my diocese. I also hurt my family, and I am sorry”. Calling the possession and distribution of child pornography “road bump in my priestly life,” the former diplomat of the Vatican said that he wants to continue to receive “psychological support”.
The press service of the Vatican announced that the decision on the Chapel by the Congregation for the doctrine will be made later. The investigation of the congregation for the cases of sexual abuse by clergy is separated from office, which was considered by the criminal courts.
The U.S. Department of state advised the Holy see on 21 August last year about a possible violation of the Chapel of the laws relating to child pornography. 50-year-old Italian Monsignor worked in Washington a little over a year, when he was recalled to the Vatican.
On 28 September, the police of Canada circulated a nationwide warrant for the arrest of Monsignor Chapel on charges of accessing, possessing and distributing child pornography.