Group sexual violence in a young Moldovan woman, couple arrested in Bronte.

Last Updated: April 30, 2024

Violenza sessuale di gruppo su una giovane della Moldavia, arrestata coppia a Bronte

She had arrived in Italy a few months ago in search of work, but instead she fell victim to a couple, he 41 years old, she 39, Romanians. They allegedly beat her and on one occasion also abused her, filming the sexual violence with a mobile phone. The two were arrested by the mobile team of Catania following an order issued by the Etna judge at the request of the local district prosecutor’s office, which hypothesizes the crimes of abuse, personal injury, and group sexual violence. For the man, the judge ordered the precautionary measure of imprisonment, for his wife house arrest with the obligation to use an electronic bracelet. The victim is a Moldovan girl who worked in the couple’s house in Bronte.

The investigations of the Catania police mobile team, coordinated by Deputy Prosecutor Sebastiano Ardita and substitute Anna Trinchillo, were triggered after the report of April 4th, received from the international police cooperation service on “possible abuse against the Moldovan citizen”, which may have been reported by the woman to a relative. The next day, the staff of the mobile team’s sexual offenses section went to Bronte, where the two Romanians and the young Moldovan were located. The investigative activities allowed to bring out the alleged repeated abuse, the personal injuries suffered by the woman, consisting of a “compound fracture, multiple fragments of the acromial extremity of the left clavicle”, with a prognosis of 30 days. The episode of sexual violence by the couple also emerged, of which there were three short videos on the thirty-nine-year-old’s cell phone, which had recorded it. The phone was seized by the police.

The young Moldovan arrived in Catania in December 2023 with someone who had accompanied her in search of work. This is how she ended up with the Romanian family in Bronte. She had moved into their home for household chores and to look after the couple’s young children. The first times reportedly passed peacefully, then there was a violent turn, with harassing attitudes, abuse, and sexual violence. The young woman was able to report her condition to someone abroad, who alerted the police cooperation service that deals with “human trafficking”, indicating the presence of a Moldovan citizen held against her will in a house in Bronte. The next day, the mobile team went into action and 24 hours later the victim was taken away and taken to a protected facility.

The precautionary measure of the judge was executed yesterday, April 29th. The man was taken to the Piazza Lanza prison in Catania. The Moldovan girl was taken to a special facility that guarantees her protection.