A slap in the face and a three-year trial. A legal case involving two parents from the hinterland accused of abusing the means of correction concluded today in Sassari court.

The episode, recounted in the hearing by prosecutor Alessia Sanna and defense attorney Gaetano Paoletti, began in 2023 when the couple's 11-year-old daughter was punished by her family for losing her house keys twice in a row. The punishment consisted of waiting in her room until dinner was ready. It didn't appear to be dramatic, but for the young girl, the imposed wait triggered a violent reaction. She vented her anger on a piece of paper where she wrote a series of stinging insults, directed at her father and mother, which she uttered aloud.

At that point, the mother delivers a slap, which, the next day at school, triggers another chain reaction, this time involving adults. Because, as the defense lawyer recalls, the girl refuses to do her homework and claims she feels unwell because her mother allegedly hit her. And the bruise on her cheek, caused by the woman wearing a ring when she slapped her, testifies to the alleged assault on the alleged victim. ATA staff, a support teacher, other school officials, and even the commander of the Carabinieri station, present at the school for a lesson on legality, then launch a supportive response for the young girl, complete with an ambulance, "code red" charges, and the fear of an unsuspected harassment within the home.

The avalanche fed on itself and never stopped, exploding into a complaint filed with the Juvenile Court, which led to medical reports and the involvement of social services. A lengthy monitoring process by the authorities suddenly ended with the case being dismissed, "given the absence," recalls attorney Paoletti, "of serious harm to the family." The criminal proceedings remained pending, where teachers and school staff testified during the hearings, denying any wrongdoing against the parents. And while the prosecutor requested a four-month prison sentence, Judge Antonietta Crobu ordered an acquittal because the act did not constitute a crime.

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