In the criminal proceedings before the court in Tempio Pausania on July 1, public prosecutor Gregorio Capasso requested prison sentences of nine years each for Ciro Grillo and his three friends Edoardo Capitta, Vittorio Lauria and Francesco Corsiglia. The young men are suspected of sexually abusing an Italo-Norwegian student in a villa in Porto Cervo in July 2019. Another woman is also alleged to have been the victim of sexual acts which, according to the indictment, took place against her will.
The public prosecutor argued that the women were so impaired by alcohol, exhaustion and the situation in the villa that they could not have given free consent. Capasso described the defendants' account of voluntary sexual contact as "inconsistent with evidence and witness testimony". In addition to the requested prison sentences, possible financial compensation for the alleged victims is also on the table.
Ciro Grillo spoke personally in court and tearfully affirmed that there had been no violence. He said that no one had taken advantage of the women and emphasized that he firmly believed in his innocence. The other defendants have so far refrained from making statements of their own.
A key point of the indictment are videos and photos which, according to the investigators, show that one of the young women was involved in sexual acts while unconscious. The public prosecutor also referred to chat messages in which the accused are said to have spoken derogatorily about the women.
The young men's defense attorneys want to point out contradictions in the women's statements over the next few days of the trial in order to support their clients' version of events and achieve an acquittal. The verdict is expected in the coming weeks.
