Rape on 10-year-old girl, Fratelli d'Italia announces ministerial inspection to rule out rape
At issue is the decision of the Court of Brescia to reclassify the crime of sexual acts with a minor as sexual violence, as requested by the Prosecutor
Key points
Fratelli d'Italia announces the request for a ministerial inspection after the Brescia court sentenced a man to five years' imprisonment for sexual acts with minors and not violence as requested by the prosecutor, with the victim being a 10-year-old girl who was pregnant. This was announced by FdI's Lombardy regional councillor Barbara Mazzali, who spoke of a 'meagre' sentence compared to the seriousness of the facts.
The affair
Much controversy has arisen in the wake of the decision to reclassify the charge of sexual violence into the crime of sexual acts with a child under 14. It will be necessary to wait 90 days to know the reasons for the Brescia court's decision, the time needed to file them. The defendant is a 29-year-old Bengali man who, in the summer of 2024, in a reception centre in the province of Brescia, had sexual intercourse with a ten-year-old girl, whose pregnancy - which led to a therapeutic abortion - was discovered by doctors who examined her for abdominal pains. For the defendant's defender, lawyer Davide Scaroni, 'this is not a light sentence in itself and is by no means, as has been said by so many politicians, a minimum sentence. Even, with the granting of general extenuating circumstances and the reduction resulting from the abbreviated trial, the final sentence could have been 2 years and 8 months. The fact that it came to five years means that the judge deviated well from the minimum, as is normal in a case of such absolute seriousness as this one'.
Sexual acts with a child under 14: consent not valid
Awaiting the motivations, the defence lawyer informed that the judge ruled out violence or threatening, as hypothesised by the prosecution. And the Gup recognised a provisional sentence of EUR 30,000. Beyond the quantification of the penalty, the motivations will be essential to understand what the judge's reasoning is behind the requalification of the crime.
The Supreme Court of Cassation on several occasions, most recently in ruling 492/2026, while sentencing to two years for sexual acts with a minor (Article 609-quater of the Criminal Code) an 18-year-old who had an affair with a 13-year-old girl, has clarified that under the age of 14 the consent of the minor is always legally irrelevant. The Supreme Court sets an absolute threshold of protection: under the age of 14 there is a legal presumption of invalidity of consent. It is irrelevant whether the relationship is desired or requested by the minor and whether there has been no threat or coercion.
What makes the difference between the crime of sexual assault (Article 609-bis of the Criminal Code) and the crime of sexual acts with a minor (Article 609-quater of the Criminal Code) is consent. If in the former case it is proved that it was free and knowing there is no offence, in the latter it does not apply.
