Matteo Salvini, Italy’s hardline interior minister, has called on three Sicilian young men to be chemically castrated if convicted of the raping of a 19-year-old American babysitter on the east coast of Sicily.
The victim accused the arrested suspects, Roberto Mirabella, 20, Salvatore Castrogiovanni, 19, and Agatino Spampinato, 19, of luring her at a bar in Catania, Sicily, before taking her to a parking garage and raping her, according to whatsmew2day.
????????Italy: ‘Italy’s Matteo Salvini calls for three alleged rapists to be chemically castrated if found guilty’https://t.co/XYpEnvHnZd
— Defend Europa (@DefendEvropa) March 27, 2019
They allegedly met her in a bar and gave her drinks, and after offering to take her to another bar, they instead forced her into a car, drove to an unoccupied street, and took turns raping her.
After the suspects were arrested, Matteo Salvini wrote on Twitter on March 27: “No leniency for the molesting worms who raped a tourist. Guaranteed imprisonment and chemical castration!”
The American babysitter, who had been working in Catania for 3 months, went back to the United States, according to her lawyer, Mirella Viscuso, who added that she would have to come back to Italy for the trial of the alleged attackers or provide testimony from the United States.
The three men deny the charges. They were identified by the police after one of them sent the victim a video of the alleged abuse through social media and invited her out again the following evening, reported The Dailymail.
The American woman also showed footage she filmed of the suspects in the club to police.
Phone records published by Italian press show that the woman tried to call 112 (one of Italy’s emergency numbers) many times, and even 911, during the approximately two hours that she was in the car, but the aggressors allegedly stopped her. Fragments were reportedly recorded in voice messages that she tried to send to a friend through WhatsApp.
Brothers, Uncle Accused of Rape and Murder of 12-Year-Old Girl in India
The brothers and uncle of a 12-year-old Indian schoolgirl whose headless body was found last week have been accused in her rape and murder.
The shocking case is the latest high-profile sexual assault to shake the country, which has long-struggled with sexual violence and the surrounding social mores of family shame, “honor,” and cover-ups.
Her brothers are aged 17, 19, and 22, according to reports.
The girl, who has not been named by authorities, was reported missing on March 13, and her decapitated head was found along with her body the following day in an agricultural field near Berkhedi, reported the Hindustan Times.
The police offered a reward of 25,000 Rupees ($360) for information on the murder of the girl, who belonged to the Dalit, once known as the “untouchables,” the lowest level of India’s rigid 1,300-year-old caste system.
Investigators determined that she had been raped and strangled to death before her head was cut off with a sickle, reported NDTV.
The family had initially claimed that she had been kidnapped and killed by neighbors in their village in Sagar as revenge over a land dispute.
On March 19, however, authorities announced that her family members were being charged over her rape and murder. The girl’s aunt is also being accused for her alleged role in the crime.
The incident took place in Madhya Pradesh, a populous central state with the highest number of rape cases.
“Our two senior officers collected all evidence and recorded the statements of the family members,” Sagar’s superintendent of police Amit Sanghi said, according to the Hindustan Times. “When everything was pieced together, we found that she was raped and murdered by her brothers and uncle.”
The girl’s eldest brother, 22, is accused of first abducting her and taking her to his uncle’s house, according to the police account, reported the New Indian Express.
“On that day everyone was out for work except the elder brother, and taking advantage of this he raped his sister,” he said. “While in the act, the other two brothers, including the minor, came and they both raped her. Meanwhile, the girl’s uncle, who is in his late forties, also came by. Initially, he scolded everyone and then he too raped her.”
When she threatened to tell the police, they allegedly killed her.
According to police, the aunt may have been present during the assault, assisted in the murder, and later tried to cover up the crime by implicating the neighbors.
Three of the four accused, including the deceased girl’s uncle and her two brothers, have been arrested, while police are carrying out raids to track down the eldest brother. Police said that the aunt would also be charged, according to media reports.
The Epoch Times reporter Simon Veazey contributed to this report.
