Tourist raped in B&B in Palermo: From hospital arrival to scooter ride
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It was her first day in Palermo. Flown to the Sicilian capital from Canada to meet her boyfriend, who was hospitalized after an accident, her vacation turned into a nightmare. The story dates back to last November, when a 36-year-old tourist, according to the accusation, was raped by two men she had just met a few hours earlier. Thanks to her account and the investigations by the Carabinieri, the alleged rapists, two cousins aged 42 and 44, Agostino and Giuseppe Romano, have been arrested today. They are now in prison, at Pagliarelli, charged with group sexual violence.
The woman, having just arrived in the city, went to the hospital to visit her partner. Not speaking Italian and not knowing the hospital, she asked for help from a group of attendants and nurses. One in particular, Agostino Romano, was particularly kind and gave the tourist directions on how to reach the ward and then the way to the B&B where the woman was staying.
A kindness that impressed the Canadian, who exchanged Instagram contacts with the attendant. After the visit to her partner, the tourist accepted the invitation of the man she had just met to spend the evening together, trusting in his availability and kindness. After ordering chicken and eating in the room of the B&B where the girl was staying, the two got on a motorcycle and reached a cousin of the man, Giuseppe Romano, with whom they took a scooter ride. Then they all returned to the accommodation. “I was happy and having fun, so I didn’t realize how much time was passing. He was very kind,” the tourist later told the Carabinieri.
At one point, a kiss and an approach that the woman tried to repulse. “I don’t remember anything from that moment onwards,” she continued. The victim, who had the social profile data of the man, pointed out who he was to the investigators. The Carabinieri identified the accomplice by monitoring the attendant’s cellphone and analyzing phone records that confirmed the presence of the two at the B&B on the night of the violence.
The investigators also intercepted the conversations of the wives of the two suspects. The two women, after learning of the incident, initially wished the worst for their partners. “That blood-dropper husband of yours called that blood-dropper of my husband.” Then they defended them, somewhat justified them. Finally, they tried to find evidence that could exonerate them. “Your husband, in my opinion, when that woman threw herself into the elevator with him, understood that something could be done. And so he called his cousin,” one of the women says, speculating how the abuse would have unfolded. “The motorcycle seat is really small. It’s so narrow that it teased them, surely that’s why they didn’t understand anything anymore,” the other says, talking about the ride given to the victim by the two. For them, it wasn’t really violence. “These guys were clean, they didn’t even have a scratch,” they add, arguing that if it was a rape, the victim would have defended herself leaving marks on the attackers.
La turista stuprata nel B&B a Palermo: dall’arrivo in ospedale al giro in scooter
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