Computer technician convicted in ‘vatileaks’ trial
November 12, 2012 - A Vatican court on Saturday found a Holy See computer expert
guilty of obstruction of justice in the investigation of leaks of sensitive papal
documents to the media by Pope Benedict XVI’s former butler. Claudio Sciarpelletti
received a two-month suspended sentence for aiding and abetting former butler to the
Pope, Paolo Gabriele, in his theft of confidential papal documents and letters. Sciarpelletti
was originally sentenced to 4 months in prison, but his sentence was reduced due to
extenuating circumstances. In a separate trial earlier in October, Gabriele was
given an 18-month prison sentence, which he is serving inside the Vatican. 48-year
old Sciarpelletti was arrested for a short time in May after his lawyer said an anonymous
tip led to the search of his desk. An envelope was found addressed to Gabriele containing
copies of documents that had been leaked to the Italian media. Sciarpelletti’s lawyer
Gianluca Benedetti had argued in court that his client was in an “emotional state”
when he gave confused and contradictory testimony to investigators, leading to the
charges leveled against him. However, while Judge Giuseppe Dalla Torre noted the
computer technician’s long years of service at the Vatican, he said the court concluded
Sciarpelletti helped Gabriele “elude the investigations of the authorities” at the
Vatican. However, the judge ordered that the computer technician’s criminal conviction
not appear on his permanent record.