Last Thursday morning started the lawsuit against Gábor Kaleta, former Hungarian ambassador to Peru, who had stored thousands of pornographic pictures made of children on his laptop.

Due to the pandemic situation, the court made its decision without a trial, based on the documents generated during the investigation.

Kaleta arrived at the courtroom in a white mask and sunglasses. He did not allow photos to be taken of him while waiting. In the courtroom he refused to take off his glasses, claiming they are prescription shades.

The suspect admitted the charges. His lawyer in his plea emphasized that Kaleta had always been “an exemplary legal professional”, serving his country as a diplomat, as well as a deeply religious, practicing Christian. He also emphasized that the former ambassador felt “enormous guilt” and had lost 30 kilos. The lawyer suggested that the perpetrator should only be fined and not sent to prison.

In his short speech Kaleta claimed that his family had been suffering continuous harassment during the case, which he thought was disproportionate. He also mentioned that there are hazy rumors about a diplomat accredited to Hungary; this was a reaction to the prosecutor’s claim that Kaleta has had a negative influence on Hungary’s country image.

The sentence is a one-year suspended prison sentence and a 540 thousand Forints’ fine. The judge emphasized that the present law makes possible one to three years in prison for such crimes, just like in the case of forgery of official documents or vandalism committed in a group. As the prosecutor had recommended a one-year sentence suspended for 3 years, the court would not have been allowed to pass a stricter sentence even if they had found it justified. In the end the sentence is suspended for 2 years and 6 months. The court and the prosecutor agreed that, considering all aggravating and mitigating circumstances, there is no need for the culprit to actually go to prison.