A 24-year-old Moroccan man was sentenced to seven years in prison on Tuesday, September 16, for sexually assaulting a minor. The ruling was handed down by a court in Macerata, a city and in the Marche region of central Italy. The man was also ordered to pay €18,000 in provisional compensation to the civil plaintiff. The assault took place last August when a 14-year-old girl and her 16-year-old friend arrived in Civitanova Marche with the 14-year-old's grandfather to spend an evening at a club on the waterfront. At the end of the evening, the two girls met the young Moroccan man. He convinced them to follow him on foot to a bar for a drink and then led them to a dark and isolated area. The 14-year-old was left alone with the man, who, according to the prosecution, also offered her cocaine. The 24-year-old is accused of forcing the girl, including punching her twice, to undergo full sexual intercourse, taking advantage of her altered state from drinking and taking cocaine. After the victim called for help and reached her friend, the Carabinieri (Italian police) began an investigation. They detained and arrested the young man the following day.
