Stopped on a country road, surprised from behind while trying to take refuge in the car, forced to undergo groping before being able to free herself, kick him between the legs and push away the man who had attacked her. The facts are those reported in the device of the judge for the preliminary investigations of the court of Cagliari which gives an account of the arrest of Fabrizio Casti, a 33-year-old from San Sperate, on charges of sexual assault. A ban on Guspini's residence has been ordered for the man.

The record

The facts are from last Thursday. At 13 a woman calls the carabinieri asking for help: she is in Su Perdosu, a countryside near the road that leads to San Nicolò d'Arcidano, she says she locked herself in the car to escape a man who was harassing her. Ten minutes later the carabinieri are on the spot: they find her in the car and a boy riding a bike that the alleged victim indicates as her attacker. The 33-year-old is blocked and from here the story of the woman continues, who says she was first approached by the young man as she was leaving a friend's property. He allegedly asked her if "he could give her his hand" and, faced with her refusal, he would not give up, he would reach her, grab her shoulder and grope her, before she - kicking him - succeeded to break free. In an instant the woman locked herself in the car and, crouched on the seat, called the carabinieri. In the minutes that elapsed before the patrol arrived, the man allegedly lowered his pants and appeared naked.

The decision

Fabrizio Casti was thus arrested and, after having denied any accusation before the military, he availed himself of the option not to answer during the validation hearing. For him the prosecutor had requested precautionary custody in prison, but the judge writes: «Considering the nature of the sexual act, in relation to the age of the woman (born in 1971), in particular the fleetingness of the gesture which takes on the connotations of raptus , the possibility of carrying out a lawful work activity and the fragility that emerged during the interrogation are elements to be evaluated according to the minimum sacrifice of personal freedom". And again: «Adequate measure for the protection of the community and the victim, proportionate to the sanction that it is believed can be imposed is, at present, that of the prohibition of residence in the territory of the municipality of Guspini».

Mariella Careddu

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