Italians Protest Sexual Assault Verdict With Their Own Videos Of Groping

David Moye
Updated ·2 min read

Italian citizens upset with a judge’s ruling on a sexual assault case involving a teenage girl took matters into their own hands ― by posting their own videos of groping.

The judges of the fifth criminal section of the Court of Rome recently acquitted a 66-year-old janitor accused of putting his hand down a student’s pants and touching her buttocks in April 2022 — because,according to EuroNews, the incident lasted less than 10 seconds.

The teenager was walking down a flight of stairs at a Rome high school when Antonio Avola allegedly put his hand inside her underwear.

When the 17-year-old confronted Avola, he replied, “Come on love, you know I’m only joking,” according to EuroNews.

Although Avola was charged with sexual assault, the judge denied the prosecutor’s request for a four-year prison sentence since the groping had “only lasted between five and 10 seconds” and that his hand had not “lingered” down her underwear.

Italians have reacted to the ruling by posting videos where they grope themselves or are groped by others for 10 seconds to demonstrate that even a seemingly brief assault is unacceptable.

Among the first users to post was actor Paolo Camilli, who is best known for working on “The White Lotus.”

A post shared by paolo camilli (@paolocamilli)

Others followed suit.

The victim hasn’t commented on the videos, but was reportedly outraged by the initial verdict.

“The judges ruled that he was joking? Well, it was no joke to me,” the student told Corriere della Sera newspaper, according to the BBC.“The caretaker came up from behind without saying anything. He put his hands down my trousers and inside my underwear. He groped my bottom. Then, he pulled me up ― hurting my private parts. For me, this is not a joke. This is not how an old man should ‘joke’ with a teenager.”

The student said she feels betrayed by both her school and by the justice system.

“I’m starting to think I was wrong to trust the institutions. This is not justice,” she said.

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