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.