The message she received from her tormentor was almost always the same: "I have a video. Everyone will see you with a dirty old man."
And she had no choice: she went to the home of the man who raped her for years. The victim was a teenager, her alleged tormentor was 50, a well-liked family friend who had been accepted into the home.
These are the findings of a trial held in Tempio Pausania, now in its final stages. The events occurred in Olbia from 2006 to 2014. The victim was just over 14 years old at the beginning of this agonizing story. Deputy Prosecutor Alessandro Bosco's closing argument was harsh and concluded with a request for eight years in prison for the alleged perpetrator of the violence.
The prosecutor cited some of the girl's statements, referring to her tormentor: "When he grabbed me, I didn't want to see anything. I put my hands over my eyes. I wanted to die."
The prosecutor explained: "A victim in a state of exhaustion, without family support, alone, continues to visit her tormentor's house. The threat of a video being released, which actually happened, devastated the girl."
Bosco explained to the judges the circumstance that changed everything: "In 2013, the victim became involved with a boy who loved her, and he told her that if she reported the crime, she would no longer have to go to the home of the man who was taking her life. The complaint came late, years later, that's also true. But the victim explained it: she wasn't reporting it because she told us she felt dirty, guilty."
The man accused of sexual assault ignored the trial and his lawyer . Defense attorney Tomaso Casula nevertheless delivered his argument and requested an acquittal because there was no evidence of sexual assault. The next hearing is scheduled for November 14th, when the judges are likely to make their ruling.
