Girl, 13, gang-raped in toilets as thugs forced her boyfriend to watch

05 February 2024 , 14:57

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The park where the young victim was attacked in Catania, Italy (Image: ORIETTA SCARDINO/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

A 13-year-old girl was gang-raped by seven thugs in a public toilets, as the monsters forced her boyfriend to watch in a horrific attack.

The victim was in the almost deserted gardens of Villa Bellini in Sicily, Italy, with her partner, 17, on January 30 when they were accosted by a group of males. Dragged into nearby toilets, she was raped by two men as her boyfriend was beaten and forced to watch the nightmare.

After the second attack she was able to escape the torture with her boyfriend and raised the alarm when they were found by passers-by. Testimony from the pair, along with CCTV footage from the area, helped track down the seven suspects - including three minors - who have since been arrested, according to la Repubblica.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed closeness to the young victim: "It strikes me that on the day in which a very young martyr of the Christian tradition is celebrated, we should see another very young victim of sexual violence. I want to say this to express my solidarity with her and her family. The State will be there and justice will be done."

The victim was raped by two men before managing to escape the horror (ORIETTA SCARDINO/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Other leaders in Italy called on those responsible for the vicious crime to be chemically castrated - a punishment previously debated in the country for rapists. Matteo Salvini, deputy prime minister, said: “Girl raped by a gang of seven in front of her boyfriend, who was threatened, blocked and kept away. Don't come and talk to me about 'tolerance' or 'error'.

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“In the face of horrors of this kind there can be no clemency but only one cure: chemical castration. I'm counting on the proposal presented by the League to be voted on as soon as possible." It is believed the seven males arrested are from Egypt, although it has not been confirmed.

Annalisa Tardino, regional commissioner and MEP of the Salvini Premier League,added: "We remain firm in the idea that chemical castration is needed for rapists and paedophiles, life imprisonment for similar episodes, as well as greater security in our cities. For the foreigners [they must be] repatriated immediately. In Egypt they would never have allowed such behaviour. The safety of our children must be a priority throughout Italy.”

Antony Clements-Thrower