PITTSBURGH — A former librarian and a bookseller who pleaded guilty in the theft of rare books from the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh in a years-long scheme have been sentenced to lengthy terms of home detention and probation by an Allegheny County judge who cited the coronavirus in sparing them time behind bars.

Common Pleas Judge Alexander Bicket sentenced John Schulman, 56, on Friday to four years of home confinement with electronic monitoring and ordered him to pay more than $55,700 in restitution to people who unwittingly purchased stolen books. Schulman said he has already made restitution of more than $100,000.

Bicket sentenced Gregory Priore, 64, to three years of home confinement with electronic monitoring. Both were ordered to spend a dozen years on probation after completing their sentences.

Priore, former manager of the rare books room, pleaded guilty in January to theft and receiving stolen property. Schulman, the owner of Caliban Book Shop, pleaded guilty to theft by deception, receiving stolen property and forgery.

Bicket told the two men that if not for the pandemic, their sentences would have been stiffer.

“I hope that this sordid period is a learning lesson for everyone, including the Carnegie Library,” Bicket said. “Without a doubt, were it not for the pandemic, the sentencing for both of these defendants would be significantly more impactful.”

Authorities said Priore stole prints, maps and rare books and handed them off to Schulman to resell them. Prosecutors said several hundred rare items worth more than $8 million were taken.