A fine of 49 thousand euros, equal to 150 euros per day for 327 days. This is what is proposed by the defense of Luca Richeldi, chief pulmonologist at the Gemelli polyclinic in Rome accused of aggravated sexual violence against a patient, in the request for a plea bargain which has already obtained the green light from the Capitoline Prosecutor's Office .
The word now passes to the judge: the prison sentence which on Wednesday will be examined by the preliminary hearing judge in Piazzale Clodio and on which the victim's lawyers are ready to fight, was determined at 10 months and 20 days then converted into a substitute pecuniary sentence. Among the "agreed" accessory penalties there is also participation "in a specific recovery process" which must be agreed.
The lawyer Ilenia Guerrieri, who represents the victim, protests: «What is surprising about the positive opinion expressed by the Prosecutor's Office for the plea bargaining proposal is the evident conflict between the commitment of civil society to supporting women so that they find the courage to report and such a rewarding definition of the process, which does not comply with legislative indications - states the lawyer -. Another element, which certainly does not encourage women to report sexual crimes, is the provision in the proposed plea agreement for the suspension of the financial penalty and the additional penalty ", adds the lawyer. For her part, Richeldi's lawyer, Ilaria Barsanti, states that «the solution of the agreement with the Public Prosecutor exclusively provides for a suspended financial penalty, and is a procedural freedom desired by the legislator to allow the suspect not to undergo at trial for years. In other words, it is better to close immediately with an agreement than to obtain an absolution in an indefinite time. Any speculation that is being made on the procedural choices of the suspect and his defender is not only seriously detrimental to the right of defence, but also leads to undue interference with the work of the judiciary".
The story dates back to the beginning of 2022: the procedure was started in Piazzale Clodio after a complaint lodged by the victim. According to the prosecution, Richeldi molested the woman at the end of a hospital visit.
The pulmonologist is also a well-known face on TV : former director of the Center for Rare Lung Diseases and associate professor of Respiratory Diseases at the University of Southampton in England, during the Covid emergency he was a member of the scientific technical committee appointed by the government.
(Unioneonline/D)