Mgr Carlo Alberta Capella, a former diplomat at the Vatican’s embassy in Washington, has been ordered to stand trial in the Vatican’s courtroom on 22 June on charges of possessing and distributing child pornography.
A Vatican statement said an investigation found that Mgr Capella, who was arrested in the Vatican in April after he had been recalled from the US, had allegedly possessed and exchanged “a large quantity” of child pornography.
Mgr Capella has been held in a cell in the Vatican’s police barracks since 9 April.
If found guilty, he faces a prison sentence of one year to five years and a fine from 2,500 to 50,000 euros (about £2,200-45,000). However, according to Vatican law, “the penalty is increased if a considerable quantity of pornographic material is involved.”
The Italian monsignor, who was ordained to the priesthood in 1993 for the Archdiocese of Milan, had been working at the Vatican nunciature Washington for just over a year when he was recalled after the US State Department notified the Holy See of his possible violation of laws relating to child pornography images.
Canadian police later issued a nationwide arrest warrant for Mgr Capella on charges of accessing, possessing and distributing child pornography.
Police said they believed Mgr Capella to have accessed child pornography from a computer at a local church while he was visiting the Diocese of London in Ontario, Canada.
Loading ...
