Vatican City’s First–Ever Arrest: Puts Ex-Dominican Ambassador Josef Wesolowski Under House Custody Over Pedophilia Charges

Vatican has done the unimaginable and impossible on Tuesday when it placed under house custody former Dominican Ambassador Josef Wesolowski over pedophilia charges. It was the first time the Vatican has ever executed an arrest in its ranks inside the city state.

In a statement, the Vatican said Wesolowski was placed under house arrest pending a criminal trial. Pope Francis, according to Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi, had personally instructed the case of Polish former archbishop be expedited.

Wesolowski was convicted of sex abuse by a church tribunal in June and defrocked pending further criminal proceedings.

It was "the result of the Pope's express wish for a case this serious and sensitive to be dealt with without delay, with the necessary scrupulousness and full undertaking of responsibility on the part of the institutions which head up the Holy See," Lombardi said.

In 2013, the Vatican recalled Wesolowski to Rome after Dominican media accused him of paedophilia. Then a diplomat in Santo Domingo, he was immediately relieved of his duties. Wesolowski had been ambassador to the Dominican Republic since 2008 until 2013.

However, his victims called for his arrest because he had been see freely roaming in Rome, fearing he might flee.

Rather than be kept in a small jail cell, the Vatican explained he was placed under house arrest in Vatican City because of health issues.

Vatican learned of the sexual abuses when the archbishop of Santo Domingo told Pope Francis about it. He alleged Wesolowski had sexually abused teenage boys in the Caribbean country, and even paid boys to masturbate.

After his defrocking, a court in Santo Domingo immediately filed charges against Wesolowski in August.

The AP reported that if found guilty by the Vatican criminal court, Wesolowski could face jail time of up to 12 years, although it still remains unclear where he would serve the penalty. It could be inside the Vatican or in an Italian prison.

"He is the first top papal representative to face the harshest sentence under church law, known as laicization," the USA Today said.