According to the court in Rome, it is not a crime to fondle a young girl’s buttocks for about ten seconds. Since Thursday, July 6, 2023, this court decision has provoked violent reactions from students and influencers in Italy.
A school caretaker in Italy has been released by the court after being charged with touching a 17-year-old girl. The court decision caused controversy among students and influencers.
no offense
For the court in Rome, it is not a crime to fondle a young girl’s buttocks for ten seconds. Disappointed by this decision, the victim confided to the Italian daily Il Corriere della Sera: “He put his hands down my pants and under my underwear, fumbled with my buttocks and then lifted them so much that it hurt my private parts. At least this.” For me, this is no joke.
However, since those touches lasted “between five and ten seconds”, as the victim denounced and recognized their author, “they did not constitute a crime”, according to the Rome court, adding that the “suddenness of the action without any persistence” occurred in the act of touching”, which “almost refers to touching”, does not allow “characterizing the libidinal or pleasurable intention generally required in criminal law”.
Prosecutors had asked for a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence against the 66-year-old security guard, who said he joked about the crimes. He allegedly admitted to lifting the girl but denied putting his hands down his pants.
students protested
Following this controversial decision, several students posted videos on social networks in which they filmed touching her body for ten seconds by simulating a touch.
In Il Corriere della Sera, the young girl explained that she had been supported by her school, which itself made the complaint: “In order to obtain justice, complaints must be made. Silence generally protects the attackers,” the teen said.
According to Le Parisien, the decision also triggered protests from the Lazio student association: “We are outraged by the reasoning behind the judgment (…) Once again, touches are not recognized as such, this time because of their duration,” Tullia Narciso, President, was outraged of the club.
She added: “We want to feel safe everywhere, especially in the school, which is designed to teach to recognize and eliminate violence and discrimination.”