DThe verdict known as the “ten-second verdict” in the case of a caretaker sexually assaulting a 17-year-old student at a high school in Rome is unlikely to stand the test of time. The attack happened on April 12, 2022 at the Roberto Rossellini Film and Television College. The then 66-year-old caretaker Antonio A. groped the rear of the student when she and a friend climbed the stairs.
At the court hearing last Friday, the judges decided that the man could not be charged with sexual harassment because the unwanted touch lasted “only five to ten seconds”. The prosecutor had asked for a prison sentence of three and a half years.
He reached under his pants and panties
According to the student, the caretaker grabbed her pants and panties without saying a word. After letting go of the student, he said, according to the alleged victim and a witness: “My dear, you know that it was just a joke.” The school management reported the incident on behalf of the student.
The verdict, according to which the man had to be acquitted because the “brief groping was free of lustful intentions” and his “awkward action” therefore did not constitute a sexual assault, was followed by a storm of public indignation.
The student commented on Wednesday to the daily newspaper “Corriere della Sera” with the following words about the verdict: “The judges see a joking intention behind it? The caretaker grabbed me from behind without saying anything. Then he put his hands down my pants and under my panties, groped my bottom, and then pulled me up so hard my privates hurt. That’s not a joke, at least for me.” After the verdict, she “only felt anger,” said the young woman. “It’s not justice. Now I’m beginning to think that entrusting myself to the institutions was a mistake. Because I feel doubly betrayed and betrayed: the first time at school, where it happened, and the second time in court.”
Numerous celebrities have shown solidarity with the student on social media. Videos are posted on Instagram and Tiktok under the hashtag #10secondi (ten seconds) to show how long a “brief groping” takes. A stopwatch runs for ten seconds while the women and men look into the camera and touch their own bodies. Italian actor Paolo Camilli, known for his role in The White Lotus, kicked things off. He was followed by Italy’s best-known influencer Chiara Ferragni and many public figures.
It is considered likely that the public prosecutor’s office will appeal against the first-instance verdict, especially in view of the public outrage over the scandalous verdict.
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