Former Vatican diplomat sentenced to 5 years in prison for possession of child pornography

Carlo Alberto Capella was tried for possession of child pornography in two sessions of the first process in a Vatican tribunal.

The sentence condemns the former diplomat to pay a fine of 5,000 euros and spend five years in prison for disclosure, transmission, supply and possession of child pornography. The Court has taken into account the factor of an "enormous amount."

The priest explained that everything began with his registration to the social network Tumblr, a platform to chat and exchange videos and photos. He said he wanted to look for "pictures of animals with funny expressions." Yet, the hours spent on the Internet became a search for pedopornographic content in a compulsive way.

Capella, 51, who has been under arrest at the Vatican since April 7, worked at the Vatican embassy in Washington. The scandal came to light in August 2017. It was discovered that the Vatican prosecutor had opened proceedings against the diplomat, after the U.S. State Department had notified the Holy See of the crime in June. A warning had come from the United States and Canada, where Capella had searched for pornography on the Internet during a trip he made in 2016.