Italian women film themselves squeezing their breasts in protest after the judge acquitted the caretaker of sexual charges because he groped a schoolgirl for less than ten seconds
- The caretaker, 66, admitted to groping in April 2022, but the court cleared him of wrongdoing
- Judges in Rome ruled that the brief sexual assault “did not constitute a crime”
Italian women are sharing videos of themselves rubbing their breasts in protest of a judge’s decision that refused to punish a school custodian for groping a student because the act “lasted less than 10 seconds.”
The incident unfolded at a school in Rome in April 2022, when the caretaker Antonio Avola, 66, reached into the pants of a 17-year-old student, touching her buttocks and pulling at her underwear.
After being reported to the police by the victim, Avola confessed to the act, stating that he had done it as “a prank”. Prosecutors had asked that the old man receive a sentence of three and a half years for sexual assault.
But this week the judge acquitted Avola of all charges because groping for less than 10 seconds “does not constitute a crime.”
In the wake of the shocking ruling, Italian actor Paolo Camilli posted a video on his TikTok account in which he filmed himself rubbing his chest for nearly 10 seconds in silence, underscoring how long the caretaker was able to assault the teen.
His post sparked a wave of protests on social media, with the hashtags #10secondi (10 seconds) and #palpatabreve (brief touching) used to share the outrage.
Italian women are sharing videos of themselves rubbing their breasts in protest of a judge’s decision that refused to punish a school custodian for groping a student because the act “lasted less than 10 seconds.”
Thousands took part in the protest, with some videos shared by notable figures including Chiara Ferragni, a famous Italian social media influencer with nearly 30 million followers.
Meanwhile, the student was furious with the court’s decision not to punish Avola.
Did the judges rule that he was joking? Well, it wasn’t a joke to me,” the student told Italian publication Corriere della Sera.
The caretaker came up behind him without saying anything. He put his hands in my pants and inside my underwear.
‘He touched my butt… To me, this is not a joke. This is not how an old man should “joke” with a teenager.
That handful of seconds was more than enough for the caretaker to make me feel his hands on me.
“I’m beginning to think that I was wrong to trust the institutions,” he said, referring to his decision to report the caretaker to the school and the police.
It is not the first time that a decision of this type by Italian judges has generated outrage in the country.
In the wake of the shocking ruling, Italian actor Paolo Camilli posted a video on his TikTok account in which he filmed himself rubbing his chest for nearly 10 seconds in silence.
In 2016, a 65-year-old Italian man accused of groping his female colleagues was found not guilty of sexual harassment because an Italian court ruled that he was driven by an immature sense of humor.
The ruling was condemned in the country where around a third of women aged 16 to 70 are said to have experienced some form of physical or sexual violence.
A junior colleague accused the man of touching her sexually, while a second woman said she treated him like “a girl … like he was smacking my butt,” according to court documents.
The court in Palermo, Sicily, admitted that he had behaved exactly as the women said, but decided to acquit him anyway.
I am Rakesh Sharma, I associated with Elite News as an Editor, since 2021. I take care of all the news operations like content, budget, hiring and policy making.