" Symptoms indicative of sexual abuse were absent at the time of the events ." This is what child neuropsychiatrist Paolo Milia , the new expert appointed by the panel chaired by judge Giancosimo Mura, alongside Monia Adami and Sara Pellici, reported in the Sassari Courtroom on the case of the 71-year-old from Sassari , arrested in 2019 on heavy charges of sexual violence against a disabled minor .
The pensioner had appeared in court "for having abused the conditions of psychological inferiority of the offended person and the trust placed in him by the little girl". The man was a neighbor and friend of the girl's family. The minor was only eleven years old at the time .
The new expert had been appointed at the request of the defense lawyer, Sabrina Falchi, who had requested the renewal of the psychological assessment to which the girl suffering from a serious intellectual disorder had been subjected.
To the question of the prosecutor Angelo Beccu and to the cross-examination of the plaintiff Arianna Denule, the expert underlined the condition of easily suggestible children. According to Milia, the minor was unable to report and interpret reality. The psychopathological picture, the cognitive disorders and the use of fantasy were sufficiently powerful to significantly impact the recalling and interpretive processes and the ability to report it to third parties.
The first episodes of violence apparently occurred in 2018 , continuing until January 2, 2019, when the girl was entrusted to her neighbor when her parents were absent, a relationship of trust that grew over the years until it turned into a friendship. The girl's parents filed a complaint , with the aggravating circumstance of having committed the crime against the minor who was just eleven years old.
The girl currently removed from her family context is in a protected facility. The next hearing has been set for October 11.
