A vacation in Albania with friends, on the coast of Durrës, turned into a nightmare for an eighteen-year-old Venetian. The young Italian tourist was raped at dawn on Friday by a man on a sun lounger on the beach near the hotel where she was staying with her group. The attacker, a 26-year-old local man, has been arrested.

The incident, which received local media coverage, was immediately reported by the victim, a young woman from Campagna Lupia, a town in the province of Venice: "I was with some friends at night, and we also drank some alcohol," the young woman explained to the officers. "For a moment, I left the group, went up to the hotel with a friend, and then went down to the beach alone, sitting on a lounger a few meters from the hotel. During this time, a person approached me and attacked me. Although I tried to defend myself, he raped me despite my resistance."

It all happened just before sunrise, at half past five in the morning, when the beach with its umbrellas in the 13th district of the city of Durres was deserted and there were therefore no witnesses, at least according to what we have learned so far.

After hearing the victim's version of events, including in the presence of a psychologist, an investigation began. Security camera footage led to the identification of a 26-year-old Albanian man, Leonard Preza, with a criminal record for theft and illegal possession of weapons. He was located and arrested within hours. Preza, responding to investigators, said he had had sexual intercourse with the 18-year-old, claiming it was therefore consensual. However, hospital findings suggest otherwise. Medical examinations revealed bruises on the girl's neck and other parts of her body, which would confirm the use of force by the 26-year-old Albanian. This evidence leaves investigators with no doubts at this time.

The victim, still in shock, will soon return to Italy after having given his statements to investigators and having carried out all the necessary checks.

(Unioneonline)