Italian citizens upset with a judge’s ruling on a sexual assault case involving a teenage girl took matters into their own hands ― by posting their own videos of groping.
The teenager was walking down a flight of stairs at a Rome high school when Antonio Avola allegedly put his hand inside her underwear.
When the 17-year-old confronted Avola, he replied, “Come on love, you know I’m only joking,” according to EuroNews.
Although Avola was charged with sexual assault, the judge denied the prosecutor’s request for a four-year prison sentence since the groping had “only lasted between five and 10 seconds” and that his hand had not “lingered” down her underwear.
Among the first users to post was actor Paolo Camilli, who is best known for working on “The White Lotus.”
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The victim hasn’t commented on the videos, but was reportedly outraged by the initial verdict.
“The judges ruled that he was joking? Well, it was no joke to me,” the student told Corriere della Sera newspaper, according to the BBC. “The caretaker came up from behind without saying anything. He put his hands down my trousers and inside my underwear. He groped my bottom. Then, he pulled me up ― hurting my private parts. For me, this is not a joke. This is not how an old man should ‘joke’ with a teenager.”
The student said she feels betrayed by both her school and by the justice system.
“I’m starting to think I was wrong to trust the institutions. This is not justice,” she said.
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