Turin, the clerk accused of sexual assault on a thirteen-year-old is back in prison

The 42-year-old salesman, originally from Bangladesh, investigated for sexual violence against a thirteen-year-old girl which occurred in a Turin minimarket on 28 August, must return to prison. This was established by the Review Court of the Piedmontese capital which, after yesterday's hearing, reserved the right to decide. The judges accepted the request of prosecutor Eleonora Sciorella, who on September 1st had challenged the release order of the investigating judge, who on August 31st had ordered the man, defended by the lawyer Francesca D'Urzo, to be required to sign daily. The clerk will not return to prison immediately, given that the effect of the Review decision is not immediate and the defense can appeal to the Court of Cassation. The clerk had been in prison for 48 hours, then, after saying he was 'sorry' for having molested the thirteen-year-old, he was released: the investigating judge, in fact, had recognized the existence of serious indications of guilt but had not validated the arrest due to the lack of risk of escape.

The affair had thus become a political case, to the point that the Minister of Justice Carlo Nordio had ordered the sending of inspectors, while Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had also intervened, criticizing the decision to release the man.

In the appeal, the prosecutor's office had highlighted the danger of escape and the risk of repeating the crime. In the meantime, the investigating judge had been threatened on social media and the prefecture had activated dynamic surveillance for her. The violence occurred on August 28 in a minimarket in the Borgo Vittoria district, on the outskirts of Turin. The thirteen-year-old had entered the shop to buy drinks for her brothers and, after the harassment, left the shop terrified and in shock. Before molesting the girl, the man had molested another woman, a forty-year-old. The clerk is also under investigation for this episode. Yesterday, during the Review hearing, the lawyer D'Urzo had presented a brief with the spontaneous declarations of the clerk, in which the 42-year-old, in addition to reiterating his repentance, claimed that he intended to no longer work in contact with the public, perhaps to be a dishwasher, but above all he said he was ready to follow a path for mistreating men. "The decision of the Court of Review - commented Turin FdI senator Paola Ambrogio - represents an important step towards justice and helps to heal a deep wound in citizens' trust towards the institutions".