Rape of Catania, who are the seven “unsuspected” boys accused of violence

The operators of the structures in which they have lived since they arrived in Italy defined them as “normal” kids with “a healthy relational approach”. The seven young people accused of the Catania rape were left Egypt aboard boats, and they were all minors (two of them are now adults) when they landed. Yes they were well integrated into the community: two worked in construction, one was doing an internship.

Two of them are collaborating with the investigators. One is 19 years old, has attended Italian courses and should soon have started the training workshops followed by internships. He was waiting for a work-study permit for which the court of Catania had already given a favorable opinion. In the reception facility, no one expected him to be involved in such an affair. The other, recently came of age, worked in construction and was above suspicion. «What happened shocked us. The boy maintains ties with his family of origin, he participated in parish and entertainment activities and photography workshops”, explained Angela Pennisi, head of the community's immigration legal area. «He is a young man who has always shown a desire to commit, giving good results. I would define him as a sweet person.”

Last Tuesday, late in the afternoon, the thirteen-year-old rape victim in Catania was walking with her seventeen-year-old boyfriend in the Villa Bellini park, in the heart of the city, when the group of seven young people attacked her, pushing her into public toilets. Two of them, who are now in precautionary custody, would have raped her (traces of saliva and seminal fluid were found on the girl's clothing), while the others would have remained watching. Her boyfriend would also have been forced to witness the scene. According to the thirteen-year-old's testimony, the boy who is collaborating with the investigators also participated in the rape. Despite the shock, the victim had the courage to report, and her story is heartbreaking: «Two of them raped me, while the others watched and held my boyfriend down. I begged them to stop, to stop asking them not to hurt me because I had never had intercourse before».

The deputy prosecutor Sebastiano Ardita and the deputy Anna Trinchillo requested the validation of the provision and the issuing of a precautionary custody order in prison for four of the suspects and house arrest for the fifth who, at the beginning of the investigations, collaborated in the identification of the herd.