Philosopher Leonardo Caffo, accused of aggravated mistreatment and serious injury against his ex-partner, was sentenced to 4 years. This was decided by the fifth criminal section of the Court of Milan, presided over by Alessandra Clemente, at the end of the trial. The Prosecutor's Office had requested four and a half years of imprisonment and not to recognize mitigating circumstances.
The judges also ordered a provisional fine of 45 thousand euros and a 5-year ban from holding public office. They then excluded two of the aggravating circumstances contested and will file their reasons within 90 days.
"It's okay to educate one to hit a thousand, I was hit. On a moral level I apologize," Caffo commented, adding that he was "very sorry" and still hopes "that there is no violence against women."
The case
The alleged abuse, at the center of the immediate trial that began on December 20, 2022, allegedly began in the summer of 2019 and continued until the summer of 2022, when the young woman, not yet thirty at the time, decided to leave him and file a complaint. The indictment reports many episodes of threats, insults - even towards her family - and verbal and physical violence.
Among these was an argument that allegedly occurred on August 17, 2020 in Catania, where the couple was on vacation: according to the prosecution's reconstruction, he allegedly grabbed her "violently" right hand, twisting it" and causing a "compound" fracture with "shortening of the finger" that was immediately attributed to a fall in the shower. According to the experts appointed by the panel of the fifth criminal section, the disease "lasted for a period of time exceeding 40 days", while no permanent damage was found "to the gripping ability" of the hand.
The defenders of the philosopher and intellectual, now 36, during their pleading admitted that the relationship between the two had become conflictual but denied the violence and aggression reported by his ex. Against Caffo, in August two years ago, the then investigating judge Ileana Ramundo had ordered the precautionary measure of removal from the family unit, with a prohibition on approaching, which was revoked by the Court last September, shortly before the deadline.
