At the same time, even if the defendant admitted that he pulled down the girl’s pants, the members of the appeals court considered that “the zipper, given the particularity of the moment, may have broken because it was of poor quality.”
The decision of the Turin Court of Appeal has caused a sensation in Italy acquitted young man from charge of rapejustifying this decision with the fact that “the girl had been drinking and urged him to dare».
The two young people, friends since school years, had met in a shop in Turin to have a drink. The girl went to the bathroom, and as she testified, “the young man forced her to have sexual intercourse with him, even though she had clearly told him that she did not want to.” The first-instance court decision was a conviction for the young man, with a prison sentence of two years and two months.
Now, however, the appeals court ruled that “the girl, also due to the use of alcohol, pushed the man to approach, while initially he had stayed outside the door”.
At the same time, even if the defendant admitted that he pulled down the girl’s pants, the members of the appeals court considered that “the zipper, given the particularity of the moment, may have broken because it was of poor quality.”
Italian media point out that the reasoning behind the decision harkens back to past times, in which female rape victims were almost always considered guilty, with the rationale that they “provoked their rapist”. The competent prosecutor announced that he will appeal against this decision to the Supreme Court of Italy.
RES-EMP
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